Popular Everton-associated journalist Greg O’Keefe of The Athletic has issued his say on the prospect of Everton spending big in the January window.
The discussion comes following the offloading of former playmaker James Rodriguez to Qatari side Al Rayyan, with a belief coming into play that the freeing-up of his wages, with a fee on top, could give the Toffees some wiggle room in the winter transfer window.
Everton found themselves constrained by Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations over the summer that prevented any significant outlay being spent on transfers.
As a result, the club spent just £1.7 million on fees, as per Transfermarkt, with all of that fee being dispensed on the arrival of Demarai Gray from Bayer Leverkusen.
In addition to Gray, the club brought in the likes of Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Andy Lonergan on free transfers from domestic sides.
However, Rodriguez’ exit is not suddenly a cause to expect wild transfer spending. Writing in an Athletic Mailbag, O’Keeffe shared his views on the upcoming agenda for the January window and future windows going forward.
“There are gaps at right-back and more convincing cover is required for the massively influential Abdoulaye Doucoure in midfield,” he wrote [via Goodison News].
“Benitez clearly wanted more options out wide, too.
“It’s unlikely all those issues will be resolved in January. But getting James Rodriguez off the wage bill was always going to be integral to Everton’s ability to invest in future windows.
“It doesn’t mean they can now go and drop £50million on one player, though — there is still plenty of pruning required before their difficult situation with financial fair play is significantly eased.
“I’m confident that, with Benitez spending that money, there will be less damaging wastefulness in the transfer market going forward.”
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In truth, the development likely has little impact on Everton’s short-term plans for the season.
Benitez will not have taken the Everton job without an acute awareness of the market challenges faced, and he will have been fully prepared to perform this season with limited resources available.
Unfortunately for Everton fans, it is unlikely that another spending spree is on the horizon.
