Bruno Guimaraes playing for Brazil.
Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images
There were some blockbuster transfers in the summer transfer window.
Indeed, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers both broke records by becoming the most expensive British footballers of all-time, while Enzo Fernandez moved on deadline day for a British joint-record fee.
Unfortunately, there weren’t so many high-profile moves in and around Everton.
Jack Grealish, Hayden Hackney and Tyrique George are all exciting signings in their own ways, but they weren’t exactly mega deals that broke the bank – what can you expect when your owner wants to sell?
However, many of Everton’s signings have started well, and according to Ashley Young, one has even been more impactful than Bruno Guimaraes at Arsenal.
How important will Christian Norgaard actually be for Everton? Should he become a regular starter?
I think he’s going to be a very serviceable squad player, but I’ll be shocked if he overtakes Garner, Armstrong or even Hackney in the pecking order
Was so good before that Arsenal move… understandable but silly, hope he’s back to becoming a regular and yeah, I can see it
Head will be on mars if Moyes starts dropping Armstrong for Norgaard now that he’s fit…
Ashley Young picks Ainsley Maitland-Niles over Bruno Guimaraes
Young was taking part in a winner stays on challenge for FootballJOE where he had to rank the most impactful signings of the summer transfer window.
As you can imagine, the likes of Rogers, Fernandez and Anderson were all mentioned, but, at one point, Young had to choose between Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Bruno Guimaraes.
Interestingly, Young picked Maitland-Niles ahead of his Brazilian counterpart.
Maitland-Niles only cost £4m this summer, while Guimaraes was £75m, but you could genuinely argue he has been the more impactful signing.
Maitland-Niles is starting on a weekly basis at right-back for Everton, while Guimaraes is having to spend plenty of time on the bench since joining Arsenal due to the brilliance of Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Of course, both players have made headlines this season for fantastic long-range efforts, but even the most biased of fans would have to admit that the Everton man’s strike against Manchester United has topped any of Guimaraes’ goals so far this season.
Whether or not this argument stands up in the long-term remains to be seen, but, right now, we can see the point Young is making here.