Kyle Walker during the final of the Coppa Italia as his Milan side faced Bologna at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Photo by Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Kyle Walker during the final of the Coppa Italia as his Milan side faced Bologna at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Photo by Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Everton’s links to Kyle Walker and the reaction they have stirred highlight just how complex this summer will be.
David Moyes achieved the first, most important part of his remit by leading the relegation-threatened Blues to safety - thus guaranteeing the first season at the new stadium will be in the Premier League. That he did so with such ease was the icing on the cake.
Winning the final three games and then securing a first summer deal by making Carlos Alcaraz’s loan from Flamengo permanent almost started to make the job look easy.
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It is anything but, however, and as exciting as the summer rebuild required at Everton is - and it is one that is filled with potential - it will also be challenging.
At right back, this summer does represent a much-needed opportunity to address what has become a problematic position for successive managers. And in modern football, the role is key to the balance of a side, particularly if a manager wants to do more than just sit back and defend the box, as has largely been the case for two-and-a-half seasons.
Everton have spent years putting square pegs in round holes at right back as Seamus Coleman’s injury issues have continued. Nathan Patterson was an attempt to find a long-term solution but injuries have blighted his development and Moyes’ approach to selection suggests he has question marks over the Scotland international.
The Blues have survived with makeshift options - think Mason Holgate, Ben Godfrey, Roman Dixon, James Garner, Ashley Young and Jake O’Brien - but the aims for the future should be more ambitious than simply getting by. A specialist right back would add much-needed coherence to Everton’s play and, hopefully, provide support to a new-look attack.
The dilemma Moyes and those around him will face, however, is that the perfect solution is unlikely to be attainable in every spot.
Even a conservative estimate would suggest Everton need to bring in seven or eight more players this summer. And with goals and creativity having been the club’s biggest problem for several seasons, most of the money The Friedkin Group will make available for the squad reset may well have to go on forward players - particularly at right wing, where Moyes currently has no recognised options and, potentially, up front.
The likes of Walker, out-of-favour at Manchester City and likely to be available at minimal upfront cost, offer some temptation against that backdrop. He is vastly experienced, won everything there is to be won at club level and has international pedigree - not something that can be taken for granted at Finch Farm.
For Moyes, with a long list of problems to fix, there will be a temptation to compromise on longer term plans in some areas - he will want to start assembling his squad in time for pre-season and to save money in some areas so he has more to spend on others. That is why links to Walker, though his wages could be an obstacle, and his former full-back at West Ham United, Vladimir Coufal, are so compelling.
Neither started this summer high on Moyes’ radar for a reason and the hope is to build a younger, dynamic squad that can develop with the club’s ambitions. Those in charge of recruitment will need to be flexible as the dominoes fall though, and short-term compromises will need to be considered in some cases.