Christian Norgaard apologised to Everton manager David Moyes after a difficult debut against Chelsea last weekend. The summer signing came off the bench with five minutes of normal time remaining, with his new side 1-0 down and chasing an equaliser against Xabi Alonso's team.
The Denmark international, who joined Everton from Arsenal, endured a debut to forget as he was partially at fault for Pedro Neto's second goal. Norgaard also looked off the pace, leading Moyes to admit the midfielder is "a little bit further away" than he had hoped.
Moyes explains decision to bring on Norgaard
"It actually wasn't a difficult decision to bring him on, because he's trained," Moyes said. "I was trying to see if I could get him the final 15-20 minutes of the game because it would have been another little bit of game time for him.
"But I think when we brought him on we realised he's a little bit further away than we hoped. But we also expected that, we didn't think he was going to be back fully firing until probably after the next international break, because he's had no real pre-season with us.
"He's probably had 7-10 days of training, half a game (behind closed doors) but we'd seen enough to suggest – and I wanted to see if I could get him 20 minutes, the game time he needs. We tried it and it showed he's probably got a bit to go."
Norgaard's apology and future plans
"Christian was the first one to come to me and say he was sorry about it and he's realised he's probably a bit further away," Moyes added.
Asked if Norgaard's debut has affected his future plans, Moyes said: "Probably. There was actually part of me last week that was half considering starting him, and I'm glad I didn't.
"I saw bits in training which made me think he was getting ready but maybe also things just went wrong. He got a couple of loose passes which he had to deal with and tried to tidy up.
"He's training great, he's a brilliant character behind the scenes for the players, so we're just hoping to get him back into full condition."
Team news and Grealish consideration
Jarrad Branthwaite was not pictured in training earlier this week, but Moyes refused to be drawn on team news. "We've got our share of bits and pieces and we'll keep them quiet," he said. When asked specifically about the availability of the centre-back, Moyes added: "I wouldn't be answering any questions [on team news], at the minute, that's for sure."
Moyes also admitted there is a "big consideration" of moving Jack Grealish to a more inside role. Asked about resting Thierno Barry, the club's only recognised striker, he said: "It's difficult because he gives us a focal point.
"If we didn't play him people would [question it], but we will [rest him] if we think there's opportunities to. Finding someone might not be easy, but we're looking at the squad and what we can do."
