Abdoulaye Doucoure has declared he’s always been in love with the club after signing a new contract with Everton to extend his stay with the Blues until the end of June 2025.
After penning his new deal, Doucoure spoke of his love for Everton, and gratitude to Dyche, director of football Kevin Thelwell and Blues fans for their backing. He told evertontv: “I love Everton and I’m very happy to extend my stay here and look forward with the club.
“It was a very easy decision to make. I love all the people around the club and all the fans who have shown me so much love in the past couple of months. My wish was to stay here and continue to enjoy my time with Everton.
“It means a lot to stay here. I always fight for this club and I’ve always been in love with this club. I’ve always wanted to stay at Everton.
“The fans’ support has been incredible and I can’t thank them enough for all the support they give me. I want to keep playing, I want to keep learning and I want to keep fighting for the badge and for the club.”
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The 30-year-old midfielder moved to Goodison Park in September 2020 and to date has made 108 appearances for the Blues, scoring 13 goals. Doucoure has thrived since Sean Dyche became manager in January with the Mali international’s all-action displays, tireless work-rate and crucial goals proving vital, including his memorable winner on the final day of the 2022/23 campaign against Bournemouth to preserve Everton’s top-flight status.
That has continued into the current season, with Doucoure netting in wins over Bournemouth and Brentford, as well as the 2-2 draw at Sheffield United.
On the importance of Dyche to his impressive form, Doucoure added: “It changed everything when the manager came in. Everyone saw my quality and I think I showed everyone what I’m capable of.
“I can’t thank the manager and Kevin enough. They’ve done an incredible job to keep me here and I’m very happy to work with them.
“I feel very good. I think all of my teammates and all the staff and everyone all around the club has supported me a lot and given me good advice. I feel in shape and believe I can play even better football.
“I think signing my new contract shows the club is going the right way. The team is doing very well at the moment. We are confident and we know the team is very good. We feel very confident and we want to look forward.
“We want to put Everton where it belongs, to be honest. We want to be higher up in the table, and obviously, we are in a good spot in the Carabao Cup as well. I want to give everything and compete every week for Everton.”
Doucoure’s work-rate was also typified during last weekend’s 1-0 win at West Ham United with the midfielder covering more than 13km over the 90 minutes at London Stadium.
Dyche said: “I have long been an admirer of Doucs’ qualities and, from the moment I became Everton manager, I was keen to get him into our team and for him to show what he can do.
“He repaid that decision with some excellent performances and crucial goals, not least the winner on the final day of last season which sealed our objective for that campaign to stay in the Premier League. Doucs has continued to impress this season and we are confident he will remain an integral part of our squad going forward.”
Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, added: “We are delighted Abdoulaye has agreed to extend his stay at Everton.
“He has a deep connection with the club and has thrived working under Sean and his coaching staff, scoring some crucial goals and giving his all every time he puts on an Everton shirt. He has been a key part behind the team’s clear progress this season and we look forward to him continuing to show his talent and helping us move in the right direction.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
