Christian Nørgaard goes into Everton's meeting with Chelsea on 17 October still waiting for his first appearance since joining from Arsenal. He was an unused substitute at Hull City, and David Moyes has another week of training to decide whether the midfielder comes straight into the side for Everton vs Chelsea.
Norgaard's first chance
Moyes said before the Hull trip that Norgaard had another week of training under his belt and could potentially replace Harrison Armstrong or James Garner. That leaves a clean selection question for Saturday, with Everton yet to see what the midfielder can do in a competitive shirt.
The clearest reason the debate has lingered is simple. Norgaard has 0 Everton appearances and 0 Everton minutes, so any involvement against Chelsea would be his first for the club.
Other selection calls around the back line
Vitalii Mykolenko missed the trip to the MKM Stadium after being forced out of Ukraine's last three internationals, and Jarrad Branthwaite deputised at left-back at Hull. If Mykolenko is not ready, Moyes has a decision to make again on that side of the pitch.
Everton sit fifth in the Premier League on 10 points from six matches, so the line-up call comes with a bit of breathing room. James Tarkowski's 7.43 rating this season also points to a back line that has given Moyes a steadier base than he had at times last season.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has helped at the other end too, netting Everton's first goal and setting up the second. With Chelsea next, Moyes is weighing whether to change the midfield shape, keep Branthwaite in reserve at left-back, or finally hand Norgaard his debut.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
