🔵 Royal Blue: Friedkin Group must back David Moyes with quality as well as quantity
With five weeks to go before the Premier League returns, Everton have work to do. The time for square pegs in round holes is over if TFG want to inspire progress.
How many players do Everton REALLY need this summer?
“We are delighted Idrissa has re-signed. His experience and his knowledge of the club is going to be so important going forward with the introduction of lots of new players and the new stadium. Idrissa will play a big part in integrating everybody.”
David Moyes thinks carefully about what he says and writes. As previously reported in this newsletter, he will often revise his programme notes over and over until he is happy with the message he is putting out.
So there is no slip of the tongue/pen/keyboard in his quote: “Lots of new players.” Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?
It is also inevitable - a necessity. The hangover of last season has been dealt with and the club has secured the services of Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane and Idrissa Gueye for the first campaign at the stunning Hill Dickinson Stadium.
They, perhaps with the exception of Gueye, do not move the dial though - Keane saves the need for a new back-up centre back but neither he nor Coleman is expected to play much next season. Even with Gueye, the hope is to move away from such heavy reliance on a player who will soon turn 36.
With all three and the addition of Carlos Alcaraz, a nice flourish after his heroics in that winning run at the end of the season, Moyes has just 18 players in his first team now. That is being generous - it includes Harry Tyrer, who is yet to play for the first team, the teen starlet Harrison Armstrong, who was playing Under-18s football until 12 months ago, and two injury prone right backs.
So Moyes was on safe territory when he pointed to “lots” of new signings.
How many constitutes ‘lots’ is open to question - a better one may be: What is the fewest number of signings Everton can afford to make this summer?
Well, it is clear that at least one goalkeeper with top flight experience is needed. Tyrer has done well in his loan spells at Chesterfield and Blackpool but even promoting him to third choice would represent a significant step up. So at least one keeper who can provide back-up to Jordan Pickford is essential.
Another area in dire need of strengthening is on the right wing. While Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil both had minutes there last season - and Ndiaye was good there for Senegal against England - both look more comfortable on the left.
This area is, for me, the number one priority and the place I would be happy to see a good chunk of the remaining transfer budget spent if/when Thierno Barry arrives from Villarreal. Two options would be needed ideally, maybe with the club investing in one and supplementing him with support in the shape of a loan move. So, two on the right takes us to three signings.
Barry would be a fourth, one that would make sense given the departure of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The 22-year-old is raw but would represent an exciting proposition given his potential. Competition and cover for Beto is essential.
I then look at the central midfield and feel that requires work. Moyes wanted to strengthen there and at full-back in January - and that was before he lost Orel Mangala to a season-ending knee injury. As it stands, Gueye, Garner, Iroegbunam and Armstrong are his options but there are questions as to whether Iroegbunam and Armstrong (like Youssef Chermiti and Nathan Patterson) might have their development better served with loan moves that would drive up their first team minutes.
Like right-wing, I would be happy to see good money spent on a central midfielder good enough to go straight into the first team. Should Moyes persist with three in the middle then another option would also be useful - that would provide cover to rest Gueye and reduce the pressure on Iroegbunam and Armstrong if they were to remain with the squad. So, there we have six - and I bear in mind that Carlos Alcaraz, who has already joined, proved handy when he played a deeper central role last season.
That leaves me with full-backs. Competition for Vitalii Mykolenko on the left would be handy while this feels like the moment to finally solve the long-term issues on the right. Yes, Jake O’Brien was very good when called upon but for too long have Everton looked at their squad and thought there were enough players who could do a job on the right of the defence and muddle through. That was the case last summer and after just 66 minutes of the season the makeshift option Ashley Young had seen red, leaving Mason Holgate to spend 30 minutes there against Brighton and young Roman Dixon to start at Spurs.
Everton have tried to address this already but the move for Kenny Tete ended in disappointment. You could perhaps bring in a full-back who could cover both sides of the defence and therefore my conservative working out leaves seven new signings (ideally eight if an option on the left becomes available). That really is a lot, isn’t it?
For me, progress this season comes in a few forms. One would be less reliance on versatility to plug gaps. Another would be to be able to look at that bench midway through a second half and have genuine belief in the options available. One of the chief characteristics of the last few years of struggle has been the gulp of exasperation around an hour into games when an opponent makes two or three changes and all look capable of influencing the match.
That can be different this season but it will require the Friedkin Group to sanction wholesale investment. Several of these spots can be filled without breaking the bank but if there was one message I would send to TFG this summer, it is that now is the time to repay Moyes.
He saved Everton from relegation, pushed the club up the table and the opening weeks of the summer have largely been focused on keeping trusted players around the squad who can provide continuity and stability.
Now the foundation for the future has been laid, the need for a sprinkling of quality - players who genuinely improve that first team - is required to ensure the new era does not get off to a false start.
Everton’s past, Everton’s future
This image by club photographer Emma Simpson struck me for a number of reasons.
Seeing assistant manager Leighton Baines and club captain Seamus Coleman together leading a group of players on a beach run during the club’s Scotland training camp was a throwback to the time when the pair would operate on either side of Everton’s defence to such great effect during David Moyes’ first stint.
It is also a reminder how pivotal those older heads are in guiding the club through an immense period of transition on and off the pitch.
Seeing Coleman out running was a boost too, suggesting he is over the injury problems that ended his Goodison farewell game prematurely against Southampton in May.
Meanwhile, there is a glimpse of Braiden Graham in that pack - a player less than half the age of Coleman. The teen enjoyed a fabulous first season in the Under-18s last year. The young striker popped up with goals in the Merseyside derby wins within his age group as well as for the U21s. He is one to watch.
‘A player who treated princes and paupers all the same’
The world of football remains in mourning following the deaths of Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva. Of the many poignant tributes since the tragedy, this piece by my friend, Liverpool FC correspondent Paul Gorst, particularly resonated with me.
📰 Everton noticeboard
👨💼 Fabio Capello, former England manager and serial title winner as a player and manager will lead Roma’s legends team when they face an Everton side managed by Peter Reid following the friendly between the two clubs at the Hill Dickinson Stadium next month
👷♂️ The Athletic’s Paddy Boyland was given a peek at the work going on at the new ground ahead of that curtain-raiser - join him here
📌 Work to complete Everton Way is nearing an end, meaning it won’t be long before those who have bought the bricks that will make up the pathway along the south stand are provided with a map detailing where their stone has been laid. I can’t wait to see mine
🚘 Liverpool Council has announced changes to its parking plans around the new Everton stadium. A new consultation has been launched on the matter - have your say
I was in the Liverpool ECHO studio to record the Royal Blue podcast on Tuesday. We discussed the latest around the transfer window, including with Thierno Barry.
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My name is Joe Thomas and I’m the Everton correspondent for the Liverpool Echo. I travel home and away to watch the Blues and speak to players, staff and, of course, David Moyes, on a regular basis. My ambition here is to give you a glimpse at life at the club that you can trust and value.
The Royal Blue newsletter is not a place for match reports and player ratings. It is a specially crafted effort to take you beyond the headlines and behind-the-scenes.
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