Amadou Onana has expressed his belief that Abdoulaye Doucoure faced moments of disrespect throughout the season and expressed his joy that the midfielder scored the crucial goal to secure Everton’s Premier League survival, writes the LiverpoolEcho.
Since Sean Dyche took charge at Goodison Park in January, Doucoure has experienced a renaissance. During Frank Lampard’s final week as manager, the 30-year-old was instructed to train alone and was excluded from the squad for a match against West Ham United following a disagreement in the dressing room.
It is reported that Doucoure defended his teammate Idrissa Gana Gueye, who was involved in a heated confrontation with Lampard after a 2-1 defeat to Southampton. However, under Dyche’s guidance, Doucoure became an ever-present figure and delivered outstanding performances in the final month of the season. Despite Everton having several players whose contracts expire at the end of the season, Abdoulaye Doucoure is not among them as the club exercised their option to extend his contract for an additional year just last week.
Doucoure demonstrated his value to the team by securing their 70th consecutive year in the top tier of English football with his decisive goal in the 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on Sunday. His second-half strike elicited jubilation among the supporters at Goodison Park, and Amadou Onana has now expressed his dissatisfaction with how his teammate was treated throughout the season.
In an interview with French publication L’Equipe, Onana stated, “I was very happy that he was the saviour of this club. He’s a friend, not just a teammate.
“He has seen all the colours this season. He went through ups and downs. At one point, he was sent to the reserve team. For me, he was disrespected at times.
“But I always knew the quality he had, the things he was capable of on a daily basis in training. He is a worker. He deserves it. This goal was also liberating for him.”