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David Moyes drops surprise as Vitalii Mykolenko mystery gets Everton answer vs Hull City
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- David Moyes drops surprise as Vitalii Mykolenko mystery gets Everton answer vs Hull City
David Moyes confirmed that Vitalii Mykolenko was a doubt ahead of Everton's away trip to Hull City on Sunday.
The Toffees travel to face the Tigers at the MKM Stadium in hopes of keeping their unbeaten run in the Premier League alive.
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The Blues were on top form before the three-week international break, winning four of their seven games in all competitions.
However, Moyes will have held his breath as several key players departed L3 for international duty, including Mykolenko.
The left-back featured for Ukraine in a 1-0 win over Hungary in the Nations League on September 25, but did not play again after suffering a knock.
Moyes said that there would be a late call made on Mykolenko ahead of the game against Hull, with Everton's team news now confirmed.
David Moyes makes Vitalli Mykolenko decision for Everton vs Hull
Mykolenko is a regular starter for Everton under Moyes, and has made 166 appearances for the club.
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The 27-year-old is the only recognised left-back for the Toffees, after a decision was made to send Adam Aznou out on loan to Malaga, where he is struggling for minutes.
With no natural options for cover, internally, the Blues feel as though Jake O'Brien and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are two players who can play there if needed.
No Everton fan sees O'Brien as a full-back, and a position change for Maitland-Niles would leave the Toffees with no cover at right-back either.
Everton have confirmed their team news for the game against Hull, and in a surprise, it's Jarrad Branthwaite who starts at left-back.
Mykolenko is absent from the squad completely, which only raises further questions for the Toffees.
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Everton have just two natural full-backs at the club with Maitland-Niles and Mykolenko, which is not good enough.
The Friedkin Group have announced that they are looking to sell the Toffees less than two years after purchasing the club.
Moyes spoke in his pre-match press conference ahead of Hull, suggesting that Everton's underwhelming summer business may have been reflective of TFG's plans to sell.
If the Toffees couldn't find the time to recruit right-back and left-back cover, how will they do it in January now that the owners are planning to sell?
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Hopefully TFG find a suitable buyer sooner rather than later, because Mykolenko's knock has been a big reality check.
This is the first test of that summer failure, so let's hope Everton thrive or others could really see them crumble.
