- 8 hours ago
Ancelotti convinced me to stay at Everton, says Davies
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 6 min read
Everton midfielder Tom Davies has revealed that Carlo Ancelotti convinced him to stay at Goodison Park ahead of the 2020/21 season when he was thinking about leaving the club on loan.
Davies is an academy graduate with the Toffees, having joined at the age of 11, and made his debut for the club in April of 2016. In his first start for the club a short period later, he was given the man of the match award for a performance in a victory against Norwich City.
Under the tumultuous tenures of Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, and Marco Silva, his development stagnated slightly to the point where he was no longer considered a starter each week.
That led to a desire to go out on loan, but Davies had a change of heart following a conversation with Ancelotti, who became manager of Everton in December of 2019.
“Me saying [in an Everton matchday programme interview in January 2020] that I want to learn how to dictate games, I am not going to do that by just training well every day,” Davies told the official club website.
“I need to be in the situation where I am in the game, dictating it and getting to understand it more.
“I went to speak to the manager and he gave me the reassurance that if I worked hard and carried on doing what I was, there would be opportunities for me.
“He thought it would be better to stay and help the squad and train well and improve that way.
“To hear that from him made me feel I was needed around the place and the two signings weren’t going to give me no chance.
“If it had been anyone other than Carlo Ancelotti, I might have pushed more, dug my heels in a bit and said I want to go out and show you how good I am.
“But the manager has been great for me, I knew he would be true to his word and I respect him so much.
“I cracked on, as I always have done, did everything right by myself, got fitter and stronger and worked harder in training.”
How has Davies performed for Everton this season?
Though he has not scored in the Premier League in 2020/21, his influence in the team in deeper areas has been felt on the occasions he has been given a start by Ancelotti.
In all competitions he has started 15 matches, with 12 coming in the Premier League.
His top performance this season, according to FootballCritic, saw him gain a 6.9 FC Rating for an outing against Manchester United in an entertaining 3-3 draw at Old Trafford.
In the Premier League this campaign, he averages 58.3 touches per 90, 2.1 interceptions per 90, and 6.6 ball recoveries per 90.
Before he was confirmed to be staying at Goodison Park this season, Davies was linked with a loan move to Southampton which didn’t materialise due to Ancelotti’s stance.
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