Since the formation of the transfer window, transfer deadline day has been a day to fear and dread for Evertonians. From one of the first transfer deadline days when Wayne Rooney became the most expensive teenager making the move to Manchester United to Mikel Arteta’s eleventh hour move to Arsenal a few seasons ago. However it hasn’t all been doom and gloom for the Toffees in regards to deadline day. In the deadline day of January 2012, Everton signed Nikica Jelavic from Rangers; beat Manchester City 1-0 with a Darron Gibson goal and re-signed Steven Pienaar on a six-month loan deal. Most recently it has been quite quiet on the transfer front in the past two deadline days, with the only notable action making an approach for Alvaro Negredo, a Sevilla player at the time and with his goal return in his early Man. City career after making a £20million move this summer, it must be a regret not to have pursued the Spaniard further.
Before we enter the hustle and bustle of the final few hours of this summer’s transfer window, there are various rumours circulating around the Toffees. The technique in deciphering through the numerous rumours that appear around this time of year is through the repetition of a rumour. For instance, if there are several sources of a story then there is probably some substance. This is more than evident with the pair Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines in following David Moyes from Goodison to Old Trafford. What has been mentioned more than once is that there is a feeling that Fellaini is far more likely to leave or push a move through than his teammate Baines would do. In terms of the players coming into Finch Farm, there are continuous stories of Gareth Barry arriving on a season-long loan. Furthermore, last night Roberto Martinez made yet another attempt to procure an asset from his former club. Everton had a bid rejected by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan for centre midfielder James McCarthy; different reports claiming the fee to be £7million, £10million or £12million and it has been reported this morning that Martinez is looking to complete this signing of the Irish international whether Fellaini is sold or not.
From the first four games of the Martinez era it is clear Everton do need strengthening in more than one area. It is abundantly apparent that the Blues need a centre midfielder that will dictate possession, hence the approaches for Barry and McCarthy. In addition the performances of Nikica Jelavic so far this season cannot install anyone with great confidence in the Croatian. Arouna Kone’s opportunity to impress in the Capital One Cup against Stevenage was met with brute disappointment. The 29 year-old, who cost the Toffees £6million, had very few touches of the ball and few chances but the two attempts he did have on goal he skied over the bar without there being any pressure on the striker. With this in mind it is clear Everton need a clinical 20-goal a season striker to achieve what they want out of this campaign. It hasn’t really shown thus far in the season but the Blues could need another winger as this is an area in which they are short.
If I was to play manager for the day, something which every fan looks to do without having more experience than playing the Football Manager computer game series or managing their child’s team; I wouldn’t look to make world record signings (not that we could), I would look to strengthen the depth, quality and longevity of the squad. For instance John Heitinga looks to have a limited time left at the club and considering his demeanour and absent performance against Stevenage on Wednesday, I would look to offload. Pursuing Ajax centre half Toby Alderweireld would be a good idea and using Heitinga in a deal plus cash would save Everton both time and money. Furthermore, in terms of signing a wide-man, I would look to make approaches for Blackpool winger Tom Ince or Callum McManaman to add to Kevin Mirallas, Steven Pienaar and Gerard Deulofeu. Additionally, I would not look to sign McCarthy; considering Wigan are reportedly holding out for between £13-15million for the midfielder, or the overrated and rather low contributing Gareth Barry. In central midfield I would look to bring in either Ever Banega from Valencia or attempt to sign Lewis Holtby on-loan from Tottenham considering the amount of midfielders Spurs have within their ranks and have signed during this window. Finally and most importantly, I would look to bring in a goal scorer because that has been our greatest problem for a while. The Toffees create more than enough chances to win most games they play however they cannot finish them. How many times has the narrative of an Everton game been; Everton were the better side but couldn’t kill off their opponent and ended up drawing the encounter. Signing a striker such as Demba Ba, Peter Odemwingie or Jermain Defoe would definitely help counter this issue and with neither striker playing regularly this season there could be a reduced price. For Defoe it may be easier to complete a deal as the striker will be looking to make England’s World Cup squad at the end of the season should they qualify for Brazil.
However, putting my own feelings and ideas aside I would predict for anxious Toffees a quiet deadline day; that being no surprises considering the amount of speculation surrounding Baines and Fellaini. I would expect there to be more of a chance of Fellaini making a Goodison exit than Leighton Baines but I wouldn’t be surprised if both of them went, never the less disappointing. As for new faces coming into the club other than McCarthy and Barry I wouldn’t expect any big names to be printed on the back of this year’s Everton kits.