Ancelotti urges patience with Everton's 'top talent' Kean

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The new Toffees boss believes the Italian teenager needs time to find his feet in a new competition

Carlo Ancelotti is an admirer of Everton talent Moise Kean but believes the striker needs time to settle in the Premier League.

The Italian tactician, who was appointed the new Toffees coach on Saturday, wanted to sign the Azzurri forward while he was in charge of previous club Napoli.

Now able to select Kean in his opening game in charge for Everton against Burnley on Boxing Day, Ancelotti called for patience when judging the 19-year-old, who has struggled to adjust to life in the Premier League.

"When I was a player I remember Platini arriving at Juventus from Saint-Etienne (at 27). It took him six months to adjust and that was Platini," Ancelotti said.

"I had the same problem with Hirving Lozano when he came to Napoli and he was two or three years older than Kean... We should always be patient with young players.

"Kean is a player we tried to sign when I was at Napoli but he chose Everton. He has fantastic quality and I'm sure he'll be a top talent but he's 19 and everything is new for him here."

Kean's struggles to settle in England were amplified when Toffees interim boss Duncan Ferguson substituted the Italian international only 19 minutes after bringing him on against Manchester United at Old Trafford on December 15.

He only has one assist to show from 13 appearances for the Merseyside club after joining from Juventus in a €32 million (£29m) deal during the summer.

Kean shot to prominence at the Serie A giants last season, scoring six goals in six league games through March and April.

The talented forward also made his competitive national team debut for Italy in March and scored in both starts against Finland and Liechtenstein.

With his countryman now in charge, Kean could feature in more games as Everton seek to rise up the Premier League standings.

The Toffees were in the relegation zone under previous manager Marco Silva but have risen to 15th on the table after gathering five points in three matches against Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal.

After hosting Burnley at Goodison Park, Everton face back-to-back away matches at Newcastle and Manchester City over the New Year period before travelling to Anfield to meet Liverpool in the FA Cup third round on January 5.

2019-12-26 10:00:02

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