So the season has finished and it’s time for the 2/3 months on rubbish rumours and watching other clubs sign world-class superstars. However, this is a transfer window very different for Everton, for a variety of different reasons. It’s time to re-build; it’s time to improve the squad, which Roberto Martinez was talking about in a recent interview. It’s time to preview the transfer window, who comes in and who needs to go.
Source: evertonfc.com
Who needs to go and who will go?
We already know that two Everton centre-backs will be departing from the first-team. One is Antolin Alcaraz and the other is Sylvain Distin. Both of the players’ contracts expire in the summer, and to be honest I don’t see any Everton fan missing them. Both are in there thirties and both peaked ages ago. It was the right time.
Two other player’s contracts also run out in the summer. The first is Francisco Junior, a young Portuguese midfielder who joined Everton a while back but his career at Goodison Park never got started. The other is hot prospect Luke Garbutt, a young left back that started to make a few impressive performances in Europe. After being left out of the side in the last two games (when Baines + Oviedo were injured) – it looks like his career is over, however the board will meet up with Luke Garbutt soon to negotiate his future at the club.
It looks like the only departures at Everton would be those who contracts expire at the end of this month. There has been talk of Kevin Mirallas leaving, however he says he wants to stay so I cannot see him moving (you hear me Daily Mirror!) John Stones, Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley have all been linked to other clubs, but I doubt any of them would move considering Stones and Barkley have signed new contracts and Lukaku has just been brought in.
Roberto Martinez has also got the chance to use some youngsters coming in back from their loan deals. Our most likely loan player to be involved next season would be Chris Long made 10 appearances for Championship side Brentford and managed to score 4 goals in that time. To be honest, I cannot see anybody else making regular appearances for Everton. Hallam Hope didn’t have a great loan spell at Bury, getting 1 assist in 19 appearances without scoring. John Lundstram’s career at Everton looks over, having unsuccessful loan spells at Blackpool and Leyton Orient (now at Scunthorpe United on loan).
It also looks a little too early to see the highly rated, George Green. The midfielder played 6 times for Tranmere Rovers, scoring once and assisting once. So, I cannot see any youngster making a ‘breakthrough’ for Everton in the next campaign. With that in mind we need to add more to our squad to achieve our squad, but with no investment there is more money to spend in my piggy bank than there is in Everton’s budget. However, I’m sure that we will be buying players to cover certain positions. It’s time to look at what we can add to the squad.
What do we need?
There are certain positions we are desperate for cover and there are some that are less important, however it is crucial that Everton add to the squad if we are going to see an Everton side winning something. If we don’t add anyone we are in a lot of trouble. Here is what I think we need:
Goalkeeper
We need a keeper who is consistent, we’ve seen Tim Howard lack in that all season; making great saves in one game and making horrific errors the next. We also need a goalkeeper who has a high parries/catching percentage, who isn’t afraid to come out and catch crosses when needed. To win big trophies, you need a top goalkeeper – this is something we don’t have at all. I also hope we can invest in a young goalkeeper – who we know that can grow into a top goalkeeper at the club.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5PLDXHSU6U
If we were going to sign a young goalkeeper, our best option would be Timo Horn. He is a 22-year-old who plays for Koln in the Bundesliga. He’s kept 13 clean sheets in 33 appearances this season (just three other goalies in the Bundesliga made more). He made 92 saves throughout the campaign, which is the 3rd highest in the domestic league. He shouldn’t cost much, but Everton would need to make a decent offer if we were to get him.
Another goalie we could purchase from the Bundesliga is Mitchell Langerak from Borussia Dortmund. He has a 100% catch/parry percentage this season and could be the cheapest of the goalies on the list. We’ve seen some of the qualities of Yvon Mvogo, the BSC Young Boys goalkeeper. He didn’t have the best of games against us but he looks a good keeper we can develop – he kept 4 clean sheets in 6 Europa League games. The most likely goalkeeper we could sign is Orjan Nyland, a young goalkeeper currently at Molde FK – linked with us back in January. The last goalkeeper I’ve found who could be a decent buy is Kristoff Nordfeldt from Heerenveen in the Dutch league, only Cillessen from Ajax and Zoet from PSV have kept more clean sheets (both 12) than Nordfeldt (10).
Centre-Back
Due to the departures of Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz this summer, it is desperate that we bring in another centre-back in the team, possibly another two. We need one who is left-footed and more importantly a defender who battles a lot of aerial duels and wins them. We also need to make sure they can lead the defence, something we lack in.
Our best choice is probably Fabian Schar. He may not be left-footed, but he wins a lot of aerial duels, which is essential for Everton. The Basel centre-back also has a lot of physically, helping him battle for tackles and challenge aerial battles when a cross comes into the box. The only downside is that he is a bit pricey for Everton and if we were to buy him it’ll take up a lot of our budget.
Virgil van Dijk is another player we could purchase. He is tall and isn’t afraid of battling players in the air, having a 63% success rate (22/35) in the Champions League for Celtic this campaign. Nicolas Lombaerts is a Belgian left-footed centre-back, with some great passing attributes and wins a lot of duels. He is also a quite pricey player and is now 30-years-old, so going for him would be good for the short-term. Bundesliga defenders Jannick Vestegaard (from Werder Bremen) and Stefan Bell (from Mainz) could both be good purchases for Everton. Both are young, left-footed and have had good seasons in the Bundesliga. They are also quite cheap for us to buy. Lastly, Andreas Bjelland from FC Twente. The 24-year-old has impressed in the Dutch league, he was ranked 16th in the total passes table in the league. He was also ranked 3rd in the total aerial duels won in the Dutch league.
Creative midfielder
It is a position we have struggled with since Mikel Arteta left. We have no central-midfielder who is creative enough to help our strikers score. We need someone who can create chances on a consistent basis. They also need a good passing accuracy to fit in the Everton side well.
The attacking-midfielder best suited in this role is Dennis Praet. He is a highly rated attacking midfielder who can also play on either wing without too much problems. His first touch and creativity is fantastic, making 11 assists in all competitions this season and has hit the back of the net 9 times. He has impressed in the Jupiler Pro League this season, picking up the Belgian Golden Shoe last year. He has been linked to many clubs and could be very expensive, but he looks a great talent and would be a fans’ favourite at Goodison Park.
Everton could also try and make a loan deal for Alen Halilovic, a youngster from Barcelona’s B team and a hot talent for Croatia. Villarreal’s Manu Trigueros is also a creative-type, he can play anywhere in midfield and has created a total of 42 chances (more than anyone in Everton’s midfield). Elche’s Faycal Fajr could be a great buy for Everton – he is ranked 6th in Liga BBVA for key passes and isn’t expensive. Zlatko Junuzovic is one of Bundesliga’s best creators; only 4 other players have made more key passes than he has this season. He also has 12 assists to his name – only Kevin de Bruyne has more in the Bundesliga. The only problem is Junuzovic is more of a winger than he is a central-player, so if we sign him to play there we might not get the best from him.
Winger
With Aaron Lennon and Christian Atsu returning to there parent clubs, a winger will be a must for Everton heading into this transfer window. We need a winger who could provide good delivery towards Romelu Lukaku and has good ability to beat the full-back one-v-one. It is very important that Roberto Martinez makes this transfer.
There is no doubt which winger I want to see at Everton next season. Gerard Deulofeu. The Spanish youngster was on loan at Everton back in 2013/14 and has struggled to live up to the heights of that loan spell at Sevilla. He hasn’t made an appearance since late April due to his ‘falling-out’ with Sevilla boss Unai Emery. He was brilliant for Everton and, according to the Liverpool Echo, is desperate for a move back to Merseyside. I hope that this becomes a reality.
If Gerry doesn’t return, there are still many wingers I’d like to see at Goodison. The first is Nolito. In case you forgot, he was the player that destroyed us in the pre-season friendly for Celta Vigo. He has hit the ball in the back of the net 13 times for Vigo, also grabbing 13 assists in that time and has created 95 chances for them. Aaron Lennon could be making a move back to Goodison after a successful loan spell. He was a fantastic purchase, scoring twice and made us looks like a different team moving forward. Ivan Perisic from Wolfsburg could be a great buy; he has scored 5 times in the Bundesliga also making 4 assists. Lastly, Denis Cheryshev. The Russian is currently on loan at Villarreal but is returning back to Real Madrid. I doubt he’d be playing in the first-team, so he could be a great addition at Goodison Park.
Striker
We need a striker good enough to challenge Romelu Lukaku for the striker spot. We need him to be very consistent and we also need him to actually score goals for Everton. No disrespect too Arouna Kone, but he isn’t going to challenge Romelu Lukaku for the spot upfront. We need someone fresh and could battle for a regular start at Goodison Park.
One of these players that fit in the agenda is Anderlecht striker Aleksander Mitrovic. The 20-year-old joined Anderlecht from Serbian side FK Partizan back in 2013 for a fee of £4.4m. Since then he has been fantastic in the Jupiler Pro League, making 27 appearances and scoring 14 times. In 50 games he has played this season, Mitrovic has hit the back of the net 27 times with a minute per goal ration off 155 minutes. He is very impressive to watch and has many off Romelu Lukaku’s attributes.
Another striker we could purchase is Eder, the Portuguese striker from Braga. He has scored 14 goals in all competitions and shouldn’t be too expensive on the market. He can use both feet and is a very good striker. Wissam Ben Yedder is another striker who could challenge for the number 9 spot. The Frenchman has scored 14 times and has recorded 5 assists for FC Toulouse. He maybe older than most players but Jonatan Soriano could be a good buy for us. The former Barcelona striker has scored 31 goals in 32 games for Salzburg in Austria, scoring 45 goals in 48 games in all competitions, giving him a minutes per goal ratio of 85 minutes. Lastly, Frenchman Anthony Martial who plays for Monaco. He is only 19 and has scored 12 times this season. Martial can also play on either wing but it could be difficult for Everton to make a buy.
Conclusion
Yes, these are only suggestions but if Roberto Martinez makes transfers for all the criteria mentioned – we could have a good season. We should’ve bought a new centre-back and a new player maker a long time ago but at last Martinez is starting to realize what we want and what the fans want. We have a small budget, I know that, but we can make the deals done. Here is too the long and painful summer Transfer Window.
Up the toffees
Stats via Squawka and transfermarkt.
Joel Parker
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