Everton are told Maitland-Niles is not 'a proper defender' after 20-month search

Back on January 30, when speaking in his pre-match press conference to preview the game at Brighton & Hove Albion the next day – a fixture in which he selected a back four made up entirely of centre-halves – Moyes admitted: “We’ve been actively looking for a right-back for over a year.”

For most of the intervening period, Moyes had deployed Jake O’Brien, a 6ft 6in central defender as a square peg in a round hole to cover the position. However, the situation was even flagged up by Prime Minister Andy Burnham – a lifelong Blues supporter – in August when the new incumbent of 10 Downing Street remarked: “We need a right-back. Poor old Jake can’t do another season at right-back.

“He’s a good player, he’s a great centre-back. Buy a right-back.”

Maitland-Niles has featured in all six matches since signing, including starting five in a row after coming off the bench and scoring a spectacular last-gasp equaliser against Manchester United on his debut. However, his place in the side against Arsenal, the club where he started his career now comes under scrutiny after varying degrees of culpability in both Hull City’s goals and Chelsea’s opener in the 2-0 defeat last Saturday as Everton surrendered their unbeaten record this season.

The ECHO understands that Hill Dickinson Stadium top brass consider the 29-year-old to be a bona fide defender given that over 150 of his career appearances have come in full-backs berths but Gunners legend Alan Smith, who lifted a brace of League championships with Arsenal plus the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup-Winners’ Cup, netting 115 goals in 351 games, is not so sure.

Speaking courtesy of Best Betting Sites, the 63-year-old told the ECHO: “He’s a really nice footballer, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, but I’ve never seen him as a proper defender. With the chances he took and the mistakes that he made the other day against Hull, that shows you.

“He was like that at Arsenal, a really lovely footballer, but I don’t think he thinks like a defender. So, David Moyes, knowing how he is, will be thinking, oh, are we going to go forward with this?

“I don’t want to be harsh on him, because he’s such a lovely player and he set up the goal for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. But yeah, we’ll see on that one.”

Hailing from Goodmayes and raised in Ilford in east London, Maitland-Niles joined Arsenal at the age of six and despite loan spells at Ipswich Town, West Bromwich Albion, Roma and Southampton, remained on their books until he moved to France in 2023.

In terms of him potentially missing out on a return to the Emirates Stadium this weekend, Smith added: “I don’t know. I mean, David Moyes will be trying to keep things very tight and sitting deep.

“So, we’ll see on that one, if he doesn't play, who will play? Perhaps someone more defensively minded.”