Placed 11th in the Premier League and far from where they expected to be, Everton and manager Marco Silva find themselves floundering after 21 games. They started the season badly picking up just six points in their first four games against the likes of newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton and even Huddersfield Town.
Since then, nothing has gone to plan. While they did hit a decent run of form, losing just two games over a three month period, back-to-back losses have called for reinforcements. With the January window open, it’s time to bring in players who can change their season but also let a few stars move on.
Oumar Niasse, Morgan Schneiderlin, Tyias Browing and James McCarthy are just four stars who could and should be on their way out. While both Schneiderlin and McCarthy have time to prove themselves, both Browning and Niasse are most likely on their way out. The Senegalese has struggled since joining Everton and it makes no sense to let him stay with no future.
The best option at the moment for both Everton and their un-wanted stars is to find new homes and get decent transfer fees that can be used elsewhere. The club needs to be reinforced in certain areas and that needs an influx of funds.
The January window is perfect for letting stars go on loan and potentially find new homes before moving permanently in the summer. This allows both the future club and the player to go through a trial period of sorts and it eases the burden on Everton.
Barring Gylfi Sigurdsson, Everton don’t have any attacking midfielders. While the Toffees can adjust to a 4-3-3 or even play Richarlison as a No. 10, they need backup. The former Swansea City man is a scorer of great goals and a great set-piece taker but he isn’t an out-and-out No. 10, which is someone Everton need.
As of now, they depend on either their wingers or full-backs to create chances off the wings. But they don’t have that attack-minded midfielder in the middle of the park. That’s a key position for any team and if Everton want to finish in a Europa League spot, it’s something they need to address.
While their main target will be a striker, bringing in competition for Sigurdsson is something they should definitely consider.
Everton’s top scorers this season include just one of their two strikers with only Dominic Calvert-Lewin in their top five. However, the 21-year-old has scored just three goals compared to Richarlison’s nine and Sigurdsson’s eight so far. This is a big problem for Marco Silva as he doesn’t have a dependable goal-scoring centre-forward.
His other centre-forward, Cenk Tosun, has struggled since arriving a little over a year ago, finding the back of the net just seven times in 31 appearances. This includes five goals last season post-January. Given that he was brought in to replace Romelu Lukaku, that’s a bad return.
That adds to Silva’s woes and the January window might be the perfect time to solve it yet again. Few players could fit in Everton’s budget but they need to find somebody pronto.
