With Amadou Onana now set to leave Everton for Aston Villa for £50 million, director of football Kevin Thelwell has made it apparent that a sustainable football model must be based on shrewd transactions both inside and outside the club. This gives Everton the chance to reassemble their team for their historic farewell season at Goodison Park. The Blues have signed forward Iliman Ndiaye from Olympique Marseille and central midfielder Tim Iroegbunam from Aston Villa in addition to returning Jack Harrison to Leeds United on loan for another season. However, with the first week of preseason completed, Sean Dyche’s team is heading to Ireland for a training camp ahead of a friendly against captain Seamus Coleman’s former team, Sligo Rovers.
Sorting through the group’s people is a big part of that, and some important choices are anticipated on that front in the upcoming weeks before the transfer deadline day on August 30. Here are some of the things Everton still needs to undertake in order to prepare for 2024–2025.
A prayer and a wing
Both Everton management and supporters agree that their team needs another wide player. Therefore, it is believed that a winger is now a key position on the transfer market.
Insiders close to the Blues thought they had an agreement in place for Hull City’s Jaden Philogene, whose agent Ivo Camacho shared a picture of the player at the team’s Finch Farm training facility on social media, and that he was keen to join them. They acknowledged that there was fierce competition for the Londoner’s signature, but in the end, the 22-year-old is returning to Aston Villa, the team he left less than a year ago, in search of more regular first team football, for three times the price the West Midlanders sold him for, after it appeared that they might suffer the embarrassment of him choosing newly-promoted Ipswich Town over Goodison Park.
Though Everton still needs more width, a suitable replacement must be found. Another central midfielder is likely needed as well; names like Kalvin Phillips and Weston McKennie have been suggested. Potential candidates include Wilfried Gnonto of Leeds United, Yaser Asprilla of Watford and Colombia, Jesper Lindstrom of Napoli, and A.N. Other.
Increased sales
In response to last season’s two point punishments for breaches, Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey both left the Blues before the end of June in order to strengthen the team’s PSR position prior to the conclusion of football’s fiscal year. Even with the money that Onana’s departure brought in, Everton still has to get rid of a few more players from their team who are surplus to requirements.
The Blues will be aiming to ship off the Frenchman who scored only once in 32 games for them after Brentford turned down their option to make his loan move into a permanent one at the end of the previous season. Thelwell managed the acquisition of £15 million striker Neil Maupay in 2022. Mason Holgate, like Maupay, is entering the last 12 months of his contract. Following his loan stints at Sheffield United and Southampton last season, the defender will be free to depart. It’s possible the club may earn roughly £10 million for the two players.
Important choices regarding Derby Day Heroes
What then happens to Jamie Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, two prominent players at each end of the pitch who confront quite different circumstances and over which Everton must make important decisions? Manchester United has made two unsuccessful attempts to get Branthwaite, but the Blues are clear that they actively intend to have him for the upcoming season barring a huge offer, and they will not be coerced into giving up their most important player for pennies on the dollar.
Onana’s exit should support Everton’s belief that they do not need to sell Branthwaite. His contract is set to expire in 2027, but if he decides to stay, he may be rewarded with a new agreement. However, Calvert-Lewin has not accepted the new conditions that have been presented to him and is now nearing the end of his existing deal.
Chiefs at Goodison Park would have the difficult challenge of finding a successor if he was to be sold this window. Talks with Newcastle United occurred last month, but a potential part-exchange involving Yankuba Minteh was ultimately abandoned. It may be easier said than done, as the number nine is one of just four players to hit the 50-goal mark for the team in the Premier League. The best case scenario is for Branthwaite and Calvert-Lewin to stay put and receive new contracts following a successful Friedkin Group purchase.
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