Although the squad is thin, the future of some of the Everton first team players may not be clear with Moyes' transfer and loan strategy set to be key to their season
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Julio Enciso of Ipswich is challenged by James Garner and Nathan Patterson. Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Julio Enciso of Ipswich is challenged by James Garner and Nathan Patterson. Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
With so much work to do at Everton, much of the focus is on incomings. Of the players who ended last season in David Moyes’ first team squad, just 13 are contracted beyond July.
Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye would take that to 15, should they sign the extensions offered to them, though Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Michael Keane look increasingly likely to leave.
There is, of course, room for promotions with young goalkeeper Harry Tyrer currently the second most experienced keeper at the club and teen starlet Harrison Armstrong having returned from his successful loan spell at Derby County. But not everyone has a clear pathway next season despite the need for numbers. With that in mind, the ECHO has taken a look at some of the players whose summer could be more intriguing than first meets the eye.
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Nathan Patterson
Nathan Patterson has been unfortunate at Everton. There were high hopes when he joined that he would be the long-term successor for Seamus Coleman. Injuries have dogged the right back though, and often cost him his spot when disrupting positive spells in the side such as when he started the campaign in the first XI under Frank Lampard three years ago.
Now 23, this has the feeling of a make or break summer for the Scotland international. Ashley Young has left the club and Coleman, even if he signs a new deal, is not expected to be the first choice in his position due to his own injury issues.
Moyes will look to sign a right back this summer and, given he started Young ahead of the former Rangers man in the final game of last season, the addition will likely take the spot of being his main figure in that position. For Patterson, the question will be whether or not he feels he can challenge for that role and the pair can spa it out and drive each other’s form upwards, or whether it begins to look as though he may need a fresh opportunity elsewhere after a frustrating period in and out of the Blues side.
Tim Iroegbunam
Tim Iroegbunam arrived at Everton almost 12 months ago after a video call with then director of football Kevin Thelwell while on holiday in the Greek islands. His move from Aston Villa was one of a flurry of deals that took place before the June 30 financial year deadline and Blues academy graduate Lewis Dobbin ended up moving in the opposite direction.
Everton believe they got the better of the deals and Iroebugnam had spells around the first team either side of a foot injury that cost him three months of the campaign, his best intervention the flick-on header that James Tarkowski lashed in to level for Everton in stoppage time during the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Moyes wants to rebuild his central midfield and one of the questions he must answer is how Iroegbunam fits in. At just 21, it will be a case of deciding where his short term future lies. His energy and athleticism proved useful at times but his first team experience is still relatively limited, certainly in the Premier League, and there is a chance Moyes could decide his development is better served on loan.
Harrison Armstrong
Harrison Armstrong will be at the centre of similar deliberations, though Moyes could opt to keep the talent around given the pace of his remarkable rise. Armstrong was highly-rated at Finch Farm but his surge to the first team, one that came after injuries in midfield led to his call-up during pre-season, was unexpected.
After impressing Sean Dyche, he ended up staying with the first team and making his Premier League debut in the second game of the season at Tottenham Hotspur. Months later, hours after Dyche left the club, he delivered a man of the match display in the FA Cup against Peterborough United.
Armstrong earned an England youth call up, dominated the academy setup when he played for the U21s and U18s and then played a leading role in Derby’s survival from Championship relegation. Moyes watched the 18-year-old while he was out on loan and was impressed. Another loan move will be considered but Armstrong has met every challenge he has faced so far and could be a player Moyes wants to keep around given his prodigious talent and progress so far.
James Garner
There is a heavy focus on midfield because it is an area Moyes wants to address as a priority. He explored options to strengthen in the middle upon his arrival in January and will look to make good on his plans this summer given the area is even lighter with the departure of Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Moyes does see promise in James Garner and trusted him as a first XI player once he returned from injury earlier this year. There is a sense there is more to come from the versatile 24-year-old, who offered a glimpse of what he could really be capable of with his inch-perfect through ball to Beto in the win over Leicester City early in Moyes’ tenure.
There is no doubt he remains around the first team and, given the work required on the squad, he starts the summer in a strong position.
But whether he has done enough for Moyes to be confident he is one of the first names on the teamsheet is uncertain. Garner is likely to face heavy competition for his spot if Moyes has the summer he is hoping for. How he handles it will impact the club’s approach from next month too, given he will then enter the final year of his contract.
Youssef Chermiti
Perhaps the biggest unknown already in the first team squad is Youssef Chermiti. The young forward has shown glimmers of quality in his two seasons at Everton - during a run of appearances at the end of the season before last and then in pre-season 12 months ago. He suffered great misfortune when a toe injury curtailed a summer in which he was emerging as a potentially important player and ruined the first half of his season. Then, just like much of the previous year, he struggled to get ahead of his competitors when he was fit.
Chermiti is an intriguing talent and his displays have suggested he possesses a footballing intelligence unusual for his size. What he needs is first team football though and that has been lacking so far. With Beto ahead of him and Everton likely to seek another striker this summer, minutes may again be tough to come by and the former Sporting player could well need a loan move to aid his development.