Everton are closing in on a transfer for Arsenal’s Christian Norgaard with Tony Hibbert already describing the Blues midfield options as "frightening"
Arsenal's Chrstian Norgaard celebrates with the Premier League trophy
Arsenal's Chrstian Norgaard celebrates with the Premier League trophy(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Former Everton fan favourite Tony Hibbert believes the Blues midfield options are “frightening” as they close in on a £7million transfer for Arsenal’s Christian Norgaard.
Everton are in advanced talks over a move to bring in the 32-year-old former Denmark international who has made over 200 appearances in English football with Brentford and then the Gunners with whom he won the Premier League title last season.
With Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tim Iroegbunam, Harrison Armstrong and new signing Hayden Hackney all featuring in the engine room in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly win away to Hamburg plus Player of the Season James Garner also to return from injury, David Moyes appears to have plenty of options in the centre of the park.
Home-grown hero Hibbert who was a one-club man, making 328 appearances for the Blues, told EvertonTV: “It’s all about keeping possession more, keeping hold of the ball. It’s about dominating the teams and knowing when to go forward.
“To have them in your team that are not all the same and they offer a different approach for us and a different option players wise with the ability they have. The good thing is that they’re top, top players.
“So, to have a number of midfielders that can give us all different options, it is going to be a problem for David Moyes. But he’ll know how he wants to play, he’ll know the system he wants to do.
“The players will know that before the start of the season. It’s just a matter of fixing them in, putting the right pieces into the jigsaw.
“You’ve also got the option to bring them off the bench which is probably even better for us, knowing you can tweak it as the game goes on as well. It’s a headache, but it’s a good headache.”
Merlin Rohl celebrates his goal during the pre-season friendly between Hamburg and Everton at Volksparkstadion on August 1, 2026
Merlin Rohl celebrates his goal during the pre-season friendly between Hamburg and Everton at Volksparkstadion on August 1, 2026(Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC/SmartFrame)
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Merlin Rohl, who was brought to the club from Freiburg as a central midfielder, scored against Hamburg while being deployed in a right-wing position and while Hibbert has been impressed by him, he reckons the German might struggle to get back in the middle.
He said: “It’s hard to see exactly where Merlin Rohl is going to fit in. We’ve seen him for the majority on the right side, we’ve seen him play right-back, we’ve seen him play right wing.
“We haven’t really seen him given a good run in midfield, which I think is probably his preferred position. He gives you a lot of energy, he gets around the place.
“He’ll put his foot in, he’s good passing the ball, he’s good going forward. Like I said before, the options we have in midfield is frightening.
“We just don’t want to get carried away with chopping and changing. You lose your pattern, you lose your know-how of the individuals within the system.
“At the end of the day, this is what the manager wants. He’s put a squad together which is really, really healthy in my eyes and he’s got the headache, not me.”
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