Roberto Martinez has recently come out and said that he is not looking to sign another goalkeeper and striker in the upcoming transfer window. As much as I trust the manager’s judgement, it is quite obvious to me at least that our squad could use some bolstering in these areas. Everton are also in dire need of at least one centre-back and should be looking for wingers too.
Joel Robles looks like he could be a solid Premier League goalkeeper from his few appearances this season but, alongside the majority of fans, I think that Tim Howard’s best days are behind him. There aren’t many goalkeeping prospects of quality that I know of who we could try to sign cheaply, yet the current situation surrounding Petr Cech at Chelsea should have the club on high alert though as I genuinely think we should at least make an offer for the veteran stopper. He is above the class of any keeper we have had in recent memory and would be a significant indication of our intentions of progressing towards the upper echelons of the game.
In terms of our striking options, we only have one out-and-out striker of any substantial ability in the form of Romelu Lukaku. Steven Naismith is better employed off the striker and Arouna Kone could not have had less of an impact on Merseyside. The Ivorian front man has been at Everton for two years and has scored one goal (at the time of writing). He is clearly not up to the standard required to be Lukaku’s understudy. We need someone who can challenge and push Rom for a starting place, someone who will bring the best out of him, and ultimately someone who can fill in well for the big Belgian- Kone is not this man.
Considering that two of our centre backs are out of contract at the end of the season, it would seem prudent to sign at least one replacement of quality to challenge the current pairing of John Stones and Phil Jagielka. However with the recent emergence of Brendan Galloway and also Tyias Browning possibly making the step up to the senior team we might have ready-made replacements. Both of these players would probably benefit from a season on loan in order to get a steady amount of first team football so I would suggest that a new signing at centre-back should be a priority.
Our current roster of wingers is not a pretty sight. I would say that only Kevin Mirallas, who has recently decided to be more loyal after interest in his services died down, is of the quality that Everton need. I would be happy if the others were shown the door. Aiden McGeady has shown flashes of brilliance but they have been too few and far between to justify him being on the books next season. Steven Pienaar doesn’t seem happy with life at Everton under Martinez and will likely go as well. This would leave us with Mirallas as our only winger. Cue wild rumours of a returning Gerard Deulofeu- whose direct running was sorely missed this season- and also the not so wild and downright plausible rumour of Aaron Lennon signing permanently from Spurs. These deals would have to both be for relatively low fees to have a reasonable chance of success. However even with those two there would still be a need for a fourth. Promote an academy player like Green or Dowell, maybe.
All in all I think a mini squad overhaul is needed this transfer to rejuvenate Everton and to allow the team to push to the heady heights of continental qualification. Many blues don’t want us to play in Europe but as a fan there are no better nights at Goodison. It’s where we need to be to progress and it’s where I hope we will be in years to come.
