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Everton midfielder Tom Davies has revealed in an interview with evertonfc.com that teammate Andre Gomes, who ousted him from the team following his return to fitness in October, has played a big role in his rejuvenation in recent weeks.
What’s the word, then?
Well, despite captaining the Toffees on occasions earlier in the season, the 20-year-old was an unused substitute in eight successive Premier League matches between October and December, and after appearing in three games over the festive period the same thing happened again – this time for four fixtures.
However, manager Marco Silva brought him back into the starting XI for the 1-0 win against Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium last month, and he hasn’t looked back since playing every minute of their previous four top-flight encounters, captaining the Merseyside outfit in the latter two against Manchester City and Watford.
Speaking to evertonfc.com, Davies has praised Gomes for his influence: “Andre is a quality player, I had him behind me when I came back into the side at Huddersfield and he looked to get the ball to me all the time.
“It is good to have him in the team and it is the same with Gylfi.
“They are both very good on the ball and excellent technically and I am looking to learn from them to improve my own game.”
Can Davies finally push on now?
He certainly can.
The youngster should take immense confidence from the fact that he looks to have shoe-horned his way into Silva’s plans and become one of the first names on the team-sheet, and now he needs to show the consistency that has been missing from his game previously.
With little left to play for except for securing a seventh-place finish come what May, the 20-year-old has the perfect opportunity to prove to his Portuguese manager that he is ready to be a mainstay in the XI for the rest of the current campaign and beyond.