LONG READ

Keane recorded 14 Premier League appearances last season and nine the year before, often operating as the Club’s third-choice centre-back behind Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski.

 Branthwaite, sidelined through a hamstring injury, has been absent from the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign, allowing for Keane’s reintroduction into the starting XI.

It’s a role he’s determined to keep.

 “My goal is to do the best I can to make it really hard for the manager to take me out of the team,” he insists. “I can’t control his decisions. Obviously, it was the same last year, and I understand that Jarrad’s a brilliant player and he’s been fantastic, but all I can do is focus on myself and give myself the best chance to stay in the team. 

 “There’s been moments where I’ve been out of the team and on the bench, which was understandable. Last year, obviously, Tarky and Jarrad were doing so well and unfortunately for both of them they’ve both had injuries at some points.

 “That’s given me a chance, so I’m just happy the manager has been able to put the trust in me and also that I’ve been able to repay it and give him some good performances back. 

 “The manager knows what I can bring to the team now. I’m not sure he knew that when he first came in because I hadn’t been playing a lot and I came on against Man City and had a bad game.

I think it was one of his first few games in charge and I kind of let myself down a bit there, but that happens in football every now and again.

 “I’m really happy I managed to play a couple of games at the end of last season and show him what I can really do. Thankfully, I’ve managed to carry that on so far this season.”

Everton’s new world-class waterfront stadium was a vital part of the positive feeling around the Club – a key reason, according to Keane, for him wanting to remain with the Toffees this summer.

He was able to take his five-year-old daughter to Hill Dickinson Stadium for the Blues’ previous home game. Aston Villa were in town, and she was to be a mascot for the game – but things didn’t go to plan, as Keane explains: “My daughter, she came the last home game, and she was supposed to be mascot with me. She was holding my hand; we were walking out the tunnel and she bottled it! She ran back to her mum.

 “I asked her when she thinks she could do it again, but she said when she’s 19! So I’m not sure that’ll happen. But hopefully we’ll give her another go by the end of the season. I managed to get her on the pitch afterwards.”

 So far, Everton are unbeaten in competitive matches at their all-new 52,769-capacity stadium, beating Brighton & Hove Albion in their Premier League opener, before easing past Mansfield Town in the Carabao Cup and taking a point in a goalless draw with Villa last time out.

The switch to the new site has been a triumph so far, believes Keane: “I think it’s amazing. I’m just loving playing there at the minute. I’m really looking forward to the next game, whenever the last one there finishes.

“I think it’s a special place to play football and the Evertonians have made it feel like home straight away, with the atmosphere they’ve brought for the first few games there. 

 “We can’t take for granted where we are, though, and I think the Club has built a special stadium there. It’s an amazing place for the fans to come and watch the team. We’re hoping to be a part of that and we’re trying to build a team that is exciting to watch, that is competing in Europe in the next year or two. That’s the aim of the Club and I think the stadium deserves it.”

Keane alludes to the Club’s high-quality transfer acquisitions as another reason for his eagerness to stay at Everton.

The Blues made nine additions in the summer, with Charly Alcaraz, Thierno Barry, Mark Travers, Adam Aznou, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tom King,
Tyler Dibling and Merlin Röhl all penning permanent deals, while Grealish joined on loan.

 Those signings have upped the standards within the squad – something that’s evident on the training pitch, as well as on a matchday.

 “I think training has been brilliant, especially the past three or four weeks” says Keane. “I think the manager said it himself and you can see the way we’re popping the ball around in training. 

 “I don’t know if it’s confidence that’s gone up or everybody’s standards have just been taken up a little bit. Maybe it’s because of the new players who have come in and they push everybody else to be better also, but I think generally throughout the squad, everyone’s training really well.

 “You can see at the weekends, we’ve been passing the ball a lot better than what we have been probably the past two, three years and we have a pretty clear idea of how we want to play. And obviously, when we have players like Jack and Ili [Ndiaye] out wide that really helps because they can carry us up the pitch.

“I feel like we’ve got a lot of talent in the front areas now and they can produce moments of magic for us, which is really important.”