The ECHO takes a look at why next week is likely to be when the starting pistol is fired on an intense squad rebuild for Everton
David Moyes looks on prior to the Premier League match between Fulham and Everton at Craven Cottage. Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
David Moyes looks on prior to the Premier League match between Fulham and Everton at Craven Cottage. Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
This time last year, Everton was buzzing with business. Desperate to comply with financial regulations for the first time in three years, the club went into the final week of the football fiscal year with work to do.
Unlike in previous years, when the Blues’ vulnerability was exploited by Premier League rivals, 12 months ago the club was part of a cluster of teams concerned about their standing in relation to the Premier League’s now-infamous Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) and willing to work together to help each other.
It was against that backdrop that the moves with Aston Villa unfolded, separate deals seeing the clubs each buy a young prospect from the other - Tim Iroegbunam heading to Merseyside and Lewis Dobbin in the other direction. Ben Godfrey was also sold to Atalanta in another pre-June 30 move that boosted the coffers enough for another points deduction to be avoided.
Finch Farm has, so far, been quieter this year. There has been business - Everton moved quickly to seal a permanent deal for Carlos Alcaraz after the Argentine was the architect of two of the three wins that sent the club into the summer on the crest of a wave of momentum.
Talks have opened with Jarrad Branthwaite’s representatives in the hope of moving towards a new deal that better reflects his importance to the club, while work to bring Kenny Tete in on a free transfer when his Fulham contract expires is advanced. Important work to bring in the figures behind the scenes who will hold sway as Everton build towards the future has also been a priority.
Considering the sheer scale of the job at hand, there is yet to be that flurry of activity similar to that seen a year ago, however.
One reason is that work remains ongoing in relation to the futures of Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane, Idrissa Gueye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Coleman and Gueye have been offered new deals while the club has remained in contact with the other two, who will leave when their current deals expire next week unless new deals are confirmed.
Another factor in the calm is that the club appears more comfortable with its PSR situation this year.
Upon their takeover, The Friedkin Group projected confidence in the club’s expected position and work behind the scenes since December has left it on a more stable financial footing.
Working out the true state of Everton’s position is difficult with the information that is in the public domain but the legacy of previous years is still one of little headspace before the end of this month, one reason why the club has approached the first part of the window with caution.
Free transfers and loan deals will still be part of the summer ahead but the club’s PSR position does change when the new calculation begins to form in July. The biggest hangover before then is the 2022 summer, in which Everton piled up more than £60m of PSR losses, a substantial chunk of the £105m deficit permitted over each three year period. That season falls out of the calculations next week, allowing for a more expansive approach to spending that should allow Moyes to add quality within his squad rebuild.
There are further reasons for it still being quiet. One is that, simply, Everton do not have many squad players available for sale. With 10 senior players having already played their final game in Royal Blue, and the futures of four others still unresolved, publicly at least, Finch Farm does not have the peripheral figures that could be sold to ease any remaining concerns. That is not to say there are not players at Finch Farm with questions over their future, just that allowing further exits at this stage of the summer is riskier than last.
One player of serious interest is Branthwaite but the message sent out from the club, underlined and in bold font, is that he is not for sale and there is a strong belief his sale is not required. That is a far cry from three years ago when key player of the time Richarlison was, in Everton’s view, sold at a cut price to Tottenham Hotspur in order for a deal to be completed in time to help with PSR concerns.
Another reason is the amount of football still being played, which is a barrier to discussions, exploratory conversations and medicals. Some of football’s elite are in action in the USA at the Club World Cup, while the Under-21s European Championships are in full flow in Slovakia. Germany’s Nick Woltemade, France’s Thierno Barry and England’s James McAtee are all thought to be on Everton’s radar - all three have reached the latter stages of the tournament.
That, combined with so many others in the game being on holiday, is another reason why it is next week, not this, when the real fun and games are likely to begin.