Where things stand as Everton enter the final hours of the January transfer window
Tyrique George during the UEFA Champions League match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in November. Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Tyrique George during the UEFA Champions League match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in November. Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
View Image
Everton are set for a busy transfer deadline day with the potential for a host of key developments to play out.
There was growing confidence on Sunday night that the Blues were closing on a deal for Chelsea winger Tyrique George - a useful addition given the potential season-ending injury suffered by playmaker Jack Grealish.
Everton are also expected to field enquiries for several squad members seeking first-team minutes. David Moyes is keen not to lose too many players, however, and has made the decision to keep Harrison Armstrong for the remainder of the campaign.
Author avatar
Author avatar
Moyes has spent most of the window stating he believed new signings were required to boost his hopes of a push for Europe after a positive first half of the season. The Blues have suffered setbacks in that quest this month, failing to beat Brentford, Wolves and Leeds United at home and losing Grealish, who looks set to undergo surgery on a stress fracture to his foot.
Yet hopes of European qualification remain after that home form was set against a backdrop of impressive wins on the road at Aston Villa and, just before the new year, at Nottingham Forest. Those results stood out given the selection crisis that hit Moyes, who at one point had nine senior players unavailable through injury, suspension and international commitments.
Most of those players have now returned, though the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carlos Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam are still working towards full match fitness after their absences through injury. All were involved in the dramatic draw at Brighton on Saturday, a result clinched with a stoppage-time goal from Beto that ensured Everton started February firmly embedded in the top half of the table.
Moyes believes a platform has been laid for a potential European push but it remains to be seen whether owners the Friedkin Group will move to significantly bolster his resources for the rest of the campaign. The signs throughout the window have been the club does not plan to spend big at a time notoriously tough to do good business in. The manager, meanwhile, has insisted he would only agree to moves that improve the quality of the squad.
That being said, Everton have considered some business this month, particularly up front and at right back.
The Blues made a loan offer for Fenerbahce forward Youssef En-Nesyri that stalled amid rival interest and tracked Tammy Abraham and Callum Wilson. Abraham has since signed for Aston Villa and Wilson now looks set to remain at West Ham United, where his future had appeared precarious.
The recent form of Thierno Barry has provided hope a new forward is not a necessity while concerns over the viability of finding a replacement has so far led to interest in Beto being rejected.
At right back, a longstanding issue for Everton, the club has looked at Brooke Norton-Cuffy of Genoa as well as others.
The injury suffered by Grealish looks to be the main catalyst for the Blues to step into action, however, and the club is in talks with Chelsea over left-sided winger George, with discussions centred on a loan move that would include an option to make the deal permanent in the summer. There was a growing expectation by Sunday night that a deal would be reached before Monday’s transfer window deadline.
While Moyes has repeatedly said new signings were unlikely as the window has progressed, there was a notable change in tone after the draw at the Amex when, asked by the ECHO whether he believed there was a chance of incomings by 7pm on Monday, he said: “Yes. I do.”
Whether any further moves are to be pursued is likely to depend on the domino effect of the final hours of business.
Moyes will also have decisions to make over his own squad. One of those has already been made, with teenage starlet Armstrong now set to remain with Everton. Moyes had toyed with the idea of allowing him to return to Preston North End on loan but the midfielder has now started the last five matches.
A notable absence from the squad on Saturday was young left back Adam Aznou, who is yet to play in the Premier League since his summer move from Bayern Munich.
As the ECHO reported on Saturday, while Moyes is keen not to weaken his squad, he would be open to a potential loan move for Aznou given how unlikely he is to get minutes at left back with Vitalii Mykolenko and, now, Branthwaite, ahead of him.
There is interest in Nathan Patterson, who was dropped for Jake O’Brien at right back at Brighton despite several positive performances and is desperate to stake a claim for the Scotland World Cup squad, and claims that former manager Sean Dyche has an interest in taking Dwight McNeil to Nottingham Forest have persisted across recent weeks.
Iroegbunam has also been subject to interest and Everton rejected a bid for him from Lazio earlier this month.
While they could be ones to watch on Monday, Moyes stressed before Brighton: “At the moment we're not really mad to let too many people go because our squad isn't big enough. But sometimes players want to go and play and I'm all for that if that's the case.”
Everton have been keen to find a loan move for academy defender Reece Welch this month and are still likely to be open to him gaining further experience. His academy teammates Martin Sherif and Eli Campbell both joined Port Vale on loan on Sunday.
Forward George Morgan, 19, has joined Friedkin-owned AS Cannes until the end of the campaign.