Everton could be in the market for further reinforcements in the January window.placeholder image
Everton could be in the market for further reinforcements in the January window. | Getty Images
Everton are in the process of rebuilding their squad and the last thing David Moyes would want is to lose one of his most trusted starters.
One of the biggest problems that David Moyes inherited when he returned as Everton boss was a squad that had too many loan players and others who were approaching the end of their contracts.
Over 10 players departed Goodison Park at the end of last season never to return and sample life at the Hill Dickinson Stadium which made the manager’s job of rebuilding a squad that has flirted with relegation on too many occasions in recent years even harder. Moyes recruited well in the summer but it was always going to be an impossible task to fill every hole, that he openly admitted the difficulties that he was having getting deals over the line shows how desperate he was getting.
Everton face Vitaliy Mykolenko contract decision
It is a testament to his experience that Moyes went with the squad he had and backed the players who he was able to sign, rather than panic buying and signing players who potentially didn’t fit the long-term strategy of the club. He will now be looking to avoid a similar scenario next summer which means that those who are approaching the end of their contracts should be a priority.
Question marks remain at right-back with Jake O’Brien considering to be a square peg in a round hole, Nathan Patterson not fancied by Moyes and Seamus Coleman not getting any younger, which makes it the only position in the defence where reinforcements are needed. If a right-back and a striker capable of scoring goals can be signed, Everton won’t be far away in terms of their starting XI.
Is Mykolenko looking to leave Everton?
Mykolenko has addressed speculation suggesting that he is trying to engineer a move out of Everton, speaking to the Vatsko Live podcast on YouTube in his homeland: “I don’t know where you read that. Ah, that’s all, of course. That I don’t want to negotiate [a contract] with Everton is a complete lie, because we just haven’t talked about it yet. I don’t even think about it because I like to play for this club, I get a kick out of it here, that’s the most important thing for me.
“My family is comfortable living here. Basically, there is nothing more to say. It doesn’t affect me at all. I know how the coaching staff feels about me, how the club feels about me. Even if there are no offers in January or before January, it doesn’t bother me because, as you know me personally, I am a professional and will work out my contract 100%. I won’t say that I won’t train because I don’t like it, because you treat me differently. This story is not about me.”
Mykolenko, for now, is going nowhere, which is one less thing for Moyes to worry about.
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