Everton’s £58k-p/w hero was ‘playing out of his skin’ vs West Ham

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Everton played host to a plethora of outstanding performances yesterday afternoon, as they cruised past an uninspired West Ham United to record a fourth away win of the season across all competitions.

However, this one felt sweeter than the rest.

A wholly typical Sean Dyche display, his side battled for every ball and limited the hosts to little to no chances. As such, they would muster just four shots on target, most of which were relatively routine for Jordan Pickford.

Few could have asked for a more perfect away day, with the work of the back four integral to managing such a huge result.

And whilst the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski will rightly garner much of the praise, with Alan Smith even pointing out the former live on Sky Sports commentary, it is their defensive teammate VItaliy Mykolenko who was arguably the outstanding player throughout the match.

Having kept Mohammed Salah largely silent last weekend, he was to have his work cut out with Jarrod Bowen. However, the English wide man was expertly nullified, as the Ukrainian full-back continues to go from strength to strength.

How did Vitaliy Mykolenko play vs West Ham United?

Branded the ‘Kyiv Cafu’ by Statman Dave following the clash, it was clearly a performance that had drawn interest.

Having joined under Rafa Benitez’s reign, it has been tough for the left-back to showcase his talents to a fanbase devoid of confidence or enjoyment after years of relegation threats.

However, it seems that their resurgence is coinciding with Mykolenko’s finest period in Royal Blue, with yesterday only emphasising that point.

Defensively, the 23-year-old was near-faultless, as he would make four clearances, six tackles and four interceptions down that left flank. However, with one key pass too, it was far from the toothless performances that fans have become accustomed to, via Sofascore.

In fact, writer Peter Guy would seek to outline his return to form by taking to Twitter, claiming: ‘Branthwaite will get the headlines but Mykolenko has been playing out of his skin. What he lacks in natural ability he makes up for with steely defensive solidity. None shall pass.’

The £58k-per-week ace just seems to be evolving with each passing game week, leaving some of the Premier League’s finest wingers in his wake. At last Everton may have a full-back worthy of filling Lucas Digne’s vacancy.