- Everton have been linked with a wide range of players this summer.
- Some rumours are naturally more appealing than others.
- So let’s put a few of them into a simple transfer-window challenge.
As a Norwich City supporter, I should begin with a disclaimer. My transfer predictions are usually somewhere between wildly optimistic and embarrassingly wrong.
Still, I’ve always had a soft spot for football’s underdogs. The clubs trying to rebuild. The clubs trying to prove people wrong. Somewhere along the way, Everton became one of those clubs for me. Which probably explains why I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time thinking about a transfer window that doesn’t involve Norwich City at all.
I’m also working on the optimistic assumption (fingers firmly crossed) that Jack Grealish is signing anyway, so I’ve left him out of this exercise entirely.
So rather than pretending I know exactly who David Moyes is about to sign, I thought we’d borrow the spirit of a certain game most of us are familiar with.
The rules are simple.
From each group of players linked with Everton this summer, I’d sign one tomorrow, build the future around another and politely leave the third alone.
And yes, I fully expect Evertonians to tell me I’ve got this completely wrong.
The attackers
Jarrod Bowen, Liam Delap and Wilfried Gnonto
Sign tomorrow: Jarrod Bowen
Let’s not overcomplicate this.
Bowen is already the complete package.
Premier League-proven, productive, versatile and capable of deciding games on his own. Everton have spent years searching for players who can consistently influence matches in the final third.
Bowen already does it.
Would it cost a fortune?
Almost certainly.
Would it send a message about Everton’s ambitions?
Without question.
Build around: Liam Delap
This one almost feels like the answer to a much bigger question.
What sort of club do Everton want to be?
If the answer involves identifying elite young talent before everybody else realises quite how good they might become, Delap is exactly the type of signing they should be chasing.
He is not the finished article.
That is the attraction.
You are buying potential, development and the possibility that a player could become one of the cornerstones of your next successful side.
There is risk attached.
There usually is with the best long-term investments.
Leave alone: Wilfried Gnonto
This feels harsh because I genuinely like Gnonto.
He is quick, fearless and capable of moments that get supporters out of their seats.
But if forced to choose between proven quality and long-term upside, he is the one who narrowly misses out.
Good player.
Wrong group. Plus, the Toffees link is tenuous at best.
The midfielders
Hayden Hackney, Shea Charles and Harry Wilson
Sign tomorrow: Hayden Hackney
This one was easy.
If Everton sign Hayden Hackney this summer, I’ll probably spend an entire article pretending I predicted it months ago.
He feels exactly the sort of player Everton should be pursuing.
Young, talented, improving and capable of becoming a central figure in the team’s next chapter.
The word “project” gets overused in football.
Hackney looks like a footballer worth building one around.
Build around: Shea Charles
There is something very appealing about players whose best years are clearly still ahead of them.
Charles fits that description.
He feels like the sort of signing supporters might not fully appreciate on day one but could look back on very differently in three years’ time.
Those are often the best signings.
Leave alone: Harry Wilson
Another harsh one.
Wilson is a good player and would improve plenty of squads.
But when placed alongside Hackney and Charles, he feels more like a short-term solution than part of a longer-term vision.
The defenders
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Kyle Walker-Peters and Georgios Vagiannidis
Sign tomorrow: Kyle Walker-Peters
Reliable.
Versatile.
Premier League-proven.
Not every signing has to make the back pages.
Walker-Peters strikes me as the sort of footballer supporters rarely get excited about until he quietly becomes indispensable.
Build around: Georgios Vagiannidis
Perhaps the least familiar name on this list.
But that is often where value lives.
Everton need to think about succession planning and future-proofing key positions.
Vagiannidis feels like the type of player who could grow with the club.
Leave alone: Aaron Wan-Bissaka
I suspect this one may upset a few people.
Wan-Bissaka is a very good defender.
But if I am choosing between the three, I prefer Walker-Peters’ versatility and Vagiannidis’ long-term upside.
I may, of course, got this one completely wrong.
Over to Evertonians…
The interesting thing about Everton’s transfer window is that it feels tied to a much bigger conversation.
The reaction to Vitalii Mykolenko’s new contract revealed that supporters do not all agree on what ambition looks like. Some viewed it as sensible business. Others saw it as evidence the club should be aiming higher.
In truth, both arguments have merit.
But they also point towards a bigger question.
What are Everton trying to become?
A club chasing statement signings and immediate progress?
Or a club patiently building something sustainable after years of instability?
Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
What this summer’s transfer business ultimately reveals may be less about the players Everton sign and more about the vision David Moyes and The Friedkin Group have for the years ahead.
As for my selections?
Feel free to tell me exactly where I’ve gone wrong.
I suspect many of you already have.
