Carlo Ancelotti revealed he doesn’t need Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Everton… because he has Moise Kean.
The Italian made the claim in his first press conference as the new manager of Everton. The new Toffees boss, 60, revealed he tried to sign former Juventus star Kean when he was in charge of Napoli.
Kean, 19, has struggled this season under Marco Silva and then Duncan Ferguson – so much so he was subbed just 18 minutes after coming on as a sub himself in the recent draw with Manchester United. But Ancelotti has called him a “fantastic talent” and has vowed to help him improve – while telling Zlatan he can come to Merseyside, but not to play.
Ancelotti revealed: “Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a good friend of mine. He was my player. But fortunately, I have trained a lot of fantastic players and I think Ibrahimovic has finished his period in the US and really I don’t know what his idea is. Really I don’t know, I have to call him. Maybe I call him just to say ‘If you want to come to Liverpool to enjoy then you can come’ – but not to play. Moise Kean did really well last year and when I was at Napoli we tried to buy him but he signed for Everton.
“He’s a very good player with a lot of talent and he showed fantastic talent at Juventus. But we have to consider he is only 19-years-old and to change country and teams sometimes you need adaptation. We have to wait on him to improve his quality, be more professional, but he has top quality.”
Ancelotti revealed he joined Everton in the somewhat surprising move as he liked the “project”, much like his time at Paris Saint-Germain. The Italian continued: “The biggest factor [for joining] was the ambition of the club. The history, tradition and atmosphere of the supporters, also the fact this club want to improve and be a better team and compete.
“Honestly, all the people I met on Saturday were really kind. It was a really good day for me. After that I showed the team my ideas and I’m excited. I want to start and try and do my best to help the team to be better and help the club to be competitive and to give happiness to the supporters because it’s been a long time this club didn’t win. It takes time to get organised, but we have to have a clear focus and I’m sure we will improve quickly. It’s true that I’ve managed top teams, like when I managed PSG it was the project that attracted me and the ambition of the club, and I think here is the same.”
On what he hopes to bring to Everton, Ancelotti admitted his No1 goal was to secure a top-four spot. Ancelotti said: “[We want to] be closer to the top instead of the bottom and to try and play better football. That is our goal because these players have the quality to play better. I would like to put a good style of football into the team – I don’t know if I’m able but I’ll try. The long-term aim is Champions League. The long-term objective is to be competitive in the Premier League. There are a lot of fantastic teams here but the goal of the club has to be this. We want to be ambitious and this is the goal. And of course to be in Europe could be good. Everton is a really passionate club, and my dream is to get Everton in the top positions of the Premier League as soon as possible.”
Ancelotti revealed he is thrilled to have Duncan Ferguson at the club and will have him serve as his No2. He concluded: “I met Duncan after the game. He will be on my staff as assistant. I am used to working with an assistant from the club. PSG I had Makelele, Madrid I had Zidane, Sagnol at Bayern, so it’s important because Duncan knows really well the characteristics of the players and the atmosphere and training ground. It will be really helpful for me.”
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