A move for the defender, linked with Everton this week, is not thought to be imminent
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Kyle Walker walks out to warm up prior to the international friendly match between England and Senega. Photo by Molly Darlington - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Kyle Walker walks out to warm up prior to the international friendly match between England and Senega. Photo by Molly Darlington - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
A move to bring Kyle Walker to Everton is not believed to be a priority at this stage of the summer. A flurry of reports linking the Manchester City defender to the Blues have emerged this week, with some claiming a deal could be close.
However, the ECHO understands any interest in the England international, who David Moyes attempted to sign during his first stint at the club, is currently tentative at best. Club chiefs are aware a right back is a necessity this summer following the departure of Ashley Young and the injury struggles of Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson.
While Coleman, who is out of contract at the end of the month, has been offered a new playing deal, Moyes has placed the emphasis of that move on the role the 36-year-old can play behind-the-scenes.
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Patterson, meanwhile, faces a make-or-break summer after three-and-a-half years that have been blighted by injuries since his move from Rangers.
Moyes is expected to target a player who will end the seasons-long battle for Everton to find a regular right back. Recent seasons have seen the veteran Young, centre backs Mason Holgate, Ben Godfrey and Jake O’Brien, central midfielder James Garner and academy youngster Roman Dixon, called upon in the absence of Patterson and Coleman.
Moyes’ selection of the likes of O’Brien and Young ahead of Patterson even when the Scotland international has been fit suggests he has concerns over whether he can make the position his own.
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Whether Walker could be the solution to the longstanding issue is open to question though. His vast experience would be useful to a dressing room that has lost leaders like Young and Asmir Begovic. He could also offer a back-up option at centre back, one that might have some use should talks with Michael Keane not lead to an extension.
But having just turned 35, lost his place at City and endured a tough loan spell at AC Milan, he would represent a short-term solution that would come with uncertainty over his fitness and reliability.
While City would likely be open to allowing him to leave on a free, his wage demands could also prove problematic for Everton as the club attempts to make sustainable progress after the boom and bust of the previous Farhad Moshiri ownership regime.
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Other options are also set to become available in the coming weeks, with Kyle Walker-Peters and Kenny Tete set to leave Southampton and Fulham respectively when their contracts expire at the end of the month, though Tete has been offered a new deal. Vladimir Coufal, who Moyes enjoyed a positive relationship with at West Ham United, is also set to become a free agent - though the ECHO understands he is another option who did not start the summer high on Everton’s agenda.
Everton’s stance could change given the extent of work that needs to be done this summer. As it currently stands, the club has just 14 senior players contracted into July - if teen starlet Harrison Armstrong is included after his breakthrough season. The club is yet to resolve the futures of Coleman, Keane, Idrissa Gueye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin but even with some of those players staying on, the squad would remain paper thin.
Against that backdrop, recruitment will have to be fluid and the money expected to be made available by new owners The Friedkin Group could be better allocated to solving Everton’s historic creative and goalscoring problems. As the dominoes fall, compromises may, therefore, be made on positions such as full-back.