Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has dared his player Alex Iwobi to talk to him face-to-face concerning his preferred position. 

Iwobi, who has played in several positions for Ancelotti, threw a dig at his manager when he said he couldn’t wait to play in his preferred situation while reacting to his inclusion in the latest Super Eagles of Nigeria squad. 

“Always an honour to get a call up to my national team. Hopefully, I get to play in my preferred position,” the 24-year-old had said on Instagram. 

That post has left Ancelotti bemused, and the Everton manager has revealed he would love to have that conversation with the player. 

“I read the post. I want to speak to him, of course,” Ancelotti during his press conference ahead of Everton’s home game against Burnley on Saturday, March 13, 2021. 

“I want to know his preferred position because usually I want to put a player on the pitch where they are comfortable to play, not where they are uncomfortable to play. 

"If he has an idea of where he prefers to play I have to know, I want to know. I would be delighted to know his preferred position and I’ll put him in his preferred position for sure, no doubt.”

“I am going to tell him: ‘Tell me, I am your manager, tell me where you want to play’. When I thought to put Pirlo as a holding midfielder I asked him: ‘Do you like to play there or not?’. ‘Yes’, he said to me, ‘I’d love to play there’ and so I put him there. If he wants to play number 10 or number nine I’ll put him at number 10 or number nine no problem. I can adapt the system.”

This season, Iwobi has played on both sides of the wing for Everton and in some games got the role of a wing-back. 

The Nigeria international plays as a No.10 for the Super Eagles, his preferred position. 

“I love being a No.10, that’s the position I like playing in,” Iwobi told Pulse in a 2018 interview.