I think it’s fair to say a lot scoffed at the possibility of spending upwards of £30million on Yannick Bolasie during the summer, me included. Let’s not forget he scored just five goals last season for Crystal Palace – for the money, a lot more is to be expected.
But this season he’ll be playing around much better players. The competition of Kevin Mirallas and Gerard Deulofeu and the chance to supply one of the best strikers in the league, in Romelu Lukaku, has so far brought the best out of the 27-year-old.
The pair, who are long-term friends, have already struck a strong understanding on the pitch, with Bolasie assisting the Belgian on one occasion to help complete his 11-minute hat-trick as Everton defeated Sunderland 3-0.
Along with Lukaku, Bolasie has also struck a bond with fellow Evertonians, with the chant ‘Bolasie, runs down the wing for me’ sung for long periods on Monday and song ‘Give us goals, Bolasie’, created by a fan on Twitter.
Despite reservations about the move in August, there were also question marks as to his final delivery – which has so far been on the dot from wide areas.
He’s already assisted once in the three games, 192 minutes of Premier League football that he’s played, but it could be more, a couple of fantastic crosses on his debut at The Hawthorns springs to mind.
Statistically, Bolasie has seen a marked improvement upon last season at Selhurst Park. He’s already played seven key passes, just 20 throughout the last term, whilst also having a pass completion of 81% at Everton, to 73%.
In terms of chances created, he’s streets ahead. Currently, he’s averaging 2.67 per game, to 0.88 under Alan Pardew. Similarly, Bolasie is averaging 0.33 assists, to 0.12 per game – he assisted just once last season.
His power and directness is refreshing and different to what was already at the club, with his trickery not only a seat raiser but also a key tool to his game in gaining a yard on defenders.
Despite the good start, there’s obviously some areas in which he must improve. Bolasie does sometimes hang onto the ball for too long when there’s better options in the final third and in turn, tries to take on too many of the opposition. Dependant on the area, this can sometimes land his defenders in trouble.
He does also need to improve on his goalscoring – just 12 in 133 games at Palace is something he’ll hope he can top.
However, his form has been impressing so far. Early days, though, of course.
