Sean Dyche gives blunt response to Ashley Young and Jack Harrison Everton selection question

Sean Dyche said he left Jack Harrison out of the starting line-up on Monday as part of efforts to provide “freshness”.

The Blues boss left Harrison on the bench against Crystal Palace, dropping him from the starting line-up for the first time since October.

It was a move that sparked surprise among sections of the fanbase and Everton’s creative struggle on Monday night led to further scrutiny of the decision.

Dyche ultimately turned to the 27-year-old as he sought a way to change the trajectory of a game Everton could ill-afford to lose but so nearly did before Amadou Onana’s late equaliser.

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After recovering from a hip injury that ruined his summer and pre-season, Harrison made his first start for Everton in 3-0 win over Bournemouth in October, scoring as the Blues recorded a first home league win of the campaign. The Leeds United loanee has been an ever-present since, starting every league match and completing all but three in that 17 game sequence.

Not all of those performances have been out wide, with Harrison often deployed behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin as Dyche sought a solution to the absence of Abdoulaye Doucoure for most of the past two months. In that hunt, Harrison emerged as the most effective option though Everton are yet to win in the league since the victory at Burnley on December 16 - the game Doucoure picked up the first of his recent hamstring injuries.

With Doucoure returning to fitness - and the starting line-up - against Palace, it was Harrison who was the surprise omission as