Everton rank in bottom three in one Premier League statistic, but it doesn’t tell the whole story

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Everton could only manage a 1-1 draw at Sunderland on Monday night as questions linger over the club’s summer signings.

Iliman Ndiaye provided the one moment of serious magic for Everton, opening the scoring with a stunning goal against Sunderland.

Ndiaye danced past Sunderland defenders before firing home on his left foot to score a wonderful solo strike.

Everton squandered a brilliant chance to make it 2-0 as Thierno Barry fired over from close range.

The Toffees were made to pay as Granit Xhaka equalised for Sunderland, handing them a point in a 1-1 draw.

Everton rank lowly in one Premier League statistic, but it doesn’t tell the whole story

Everton failed to kick on after that opening goal and struggled to wrestle back control from Sunderland.

Some Toffees fans have been left frustrated by Moyes, and questions will be asked of his approach.

One of the biggest complaints so far has been over his refusal to use certain summer signings.

Sky Sports actually showed a graphic before kick-off, noting that Everton rank 18th in the Premier League for minutes by Premier League debutants this season.

Just 4% of Everton’s minutes have been given to Premier League debutants, with Fulham and Brentford the only teams below the Toffees.

This doesn’t quite tell the whole story, though, as ‘debutants’ immediately leads you to think of new signings.

Summer signings Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling have all played in the Premier League before, though, meaning they don’t count in this regard.

That means the statistic basically covers Adam Aznou, Merlin Rohl and the aforementioned Barry.

Everton left hoping for long-term impact from foreign imports

Barry has been in and out of the team, with Moyes seemingly unable to trust him or Beto in attack.

Aznou has been a complete non-factor due to injury and the presence of the more experienced Vitaliy Mykolenko.

Rohl also suffered injury problems earlier in the season, but being left as an unused substitute at Sunderland was a surprise.

Ultimately, Everton are looking to play the long game with Barry, Aznou and Rohl.

All three players are young and learning their trade, with Everton hoping to see them become stars in the future.

There are clear reasons why all three haven’t played much so far, but that will hopefully change over the course of the season and beyond.