Abdoulaye Doucoure now sends one-word message to Everton starlet Jenson Metcalfe

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It would have been easy to get caught up in the thrill of Everton’s win yesterday, given the ease with which it came.

Never before, or not least in recent years, has it been so easy to sit down and just enjoy a game of football in which the Toffees were playing.

There have been perennial worries and unrelenting threats, making every match a must-win, and every loss feel like the end of the world.

Well, on their current run, the latter notion is becoming a foreign concept to Evertonians, who have been treated to ten wins from their last 14 games under Sean Dyche.

Having now moved to 16th in the Premier League table, the pressure has been alleviated tenfold. This has, in turn, allowed the 52-year-old to experiment somewhat.

Yesterday’s win saw them forced into a new system to accommodate injuries, and even then the five-at-the-back saw little change in the way of quality and execution.

Such was his confidence in claiming a result, Dyche would even offer a few youngsters a place on the bench. Most notable was the inclusion of Jenson Metcalfe, for his first call-up to the senior squad.

As a moment he will never forget, the 19-year-old would proudly post his shirt, adorned with signatures from his teammates. Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has arguably enjoyed the greatest turnaround under the new leadership, then took to X to offer his support, simply writing: ‘Deserved’.

Who is Jenson Metcalfe?

Having been with Everton since the age of five, Metcalfe would have dreamed of such a moment.

A boyhood blue, and a supremely talented one too, there is every chance that the teenage midfielder would soon realise his grand ambition of making his first-team debut.

After all, this show of faith from Dyche highlights the progress made by the maestro, who has been impressing for Paul Tait’s U21 side in recent years.

Described on Everton’s official website as an ‘energetic and technically-proficient central-midfield player’, such an injection of such youthful quality will surely not go amiss.

Given there is arguably no better time to bleed such inexperience into the senior squad, which has reached a level of harmony unforeseen in recent years, perhaps this marks only the start for Metcalfe who may be set to enjoy his breakthrough campaign under Dyche.