According to Sky Sports, Crystal Palace have bid £8million for Everton’s forgotten man James McCarthy. The move may well suite everybody involved in the deal, especially if Palace can keep the Irishman fit. The 28-year-old desperately needs to revive his career, while he still has the chance. It seems unlikely he can do that at Everton.
Part of an Everton clear-out
This move would be the latest step in the Toffees moving forward. McCarthy when fit, when being the prevalent word, is a good asset in the centre of midfield. However, he has spent the best part of the last 18 months on the sidelines after breaking in his leg in January 2018 against West Brom.
He has struggled to get back to full fitness. Selling the midfielder for the mooted fee, having brought in Fabian Delph for a similar fee seems to show just how shrewd Everton director of football Marcel Brands is in the market.
The Dutchman will continue to attempt to clear out the players who are not in boss Marco Silva’s plans, such as Kevin Mirallas, Cuco Martina, Mohamed Besic, Yannick Bolasie and Oumar Niasse. These are players who offer the team very little and will be moved if the Toffees can find buyers for any of them.
Gueye exit may not be the end of the world either
Noises coming from France suggest that big-spending PSG are set to renew their interest in Toffees central midfielder Idrissa (Gana) Gueye, with a £30million bid reportedly in the pipeline. The French club saw a big-money bid rejected for Gueye in January. However, it seems likely they will get their man this summer.
Gueye is a good player and he finished last season in a strong manner. However, he is nearly 30 years of age and his game relies on energy. He gets around the pitch and harries opponents. Players tend to start waning towards their thirties, especially such an energetic player as Gueye.
On paper, selling for the mooted fee of £30million would be good business for the Toffees, who signed the midfielder for just £8million in 2016. The Merseysider’s could then find a younger replacement. Judging by Brands history of unearthing gems, the Dutchman is very capable of doing so this summer.
Plenty more to come from Everton
There is a feeling that there are still plenty more deals to come from Everton. A number of players are likely to leave the club, as the Toffees attempt to cut their squad down and get rid of the aforementioned deadwood.
However, the expectancy is that the Merseysider’s will still make more additions in the transfer market. They need a new right-back and also a striker, which seem to be priorities. A new centre-back may also be targeted to fill the gap left by Kurt Zouma returning to Chelsea. Mr Brands looks set for a busy few weeks before the transfer window closes on the eve of the Premier League campaign on August 8th. It would be highly surprising if the Toffees had not strengthened their squad with quality additions.
Everton look to be finally doing things right in the transfer market after mismanagement under former director of football Steve Walsh. Marcel Brands looks far better equipped for the job of attempting to bring back the glory days to the blue half of Merseyside, with the Toffees fancied outsiders to break into the top-six next season.
Will Everton be stronger by the end of the transfer window than they were at the start?
