Everton’s pursuit of a new right-back is more likely to be concluded closer to deadline day (Tuesday September 1) than the start of the season, according to journalist Paul Bradshaw, who reports the club are playing the long game in the hope of striking a cheaper deal for Guela Doue.
The Strasbourg full-back has been mentioned as one of several options Everton have considered at right-back this summer, a position that has proven the most crowded and unresolved area of David Moyes’ rebuild.
Bradshaw’s report suggests patience rather than urgency is now the club’s approach, with Everton content to let Doué’s valuation soften as the market develops rather than meet Strasbourg’s current asking price.
Should that strategy not pay off, Bradshaw adds that the club are “certain” a deal can be struck for West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka as a fallback option, with the Hammers’ relegation having already reduced his valuation from the Premier League level.
Wan-Bissaka has previously been described as the more advanced of Everton’s right-back targets, with Moyes’ prior working relationship with the defender seen as an advantage.
The approach would mark a departure from the urgency Everton have shown elsewhere in the market this summer, with deals for Hayden Hackney and Tyrique George both completed inside the opening weeks of the window.
Right-back has instead been characterised by a long list of names without resolution — Djed Spence, Raoul Bellanova and Rico Lewis have all been credited with interest alongside Doue and Wan-Bissaka, without any deal appearing close.
If accurate, it points to a position Everton feel no immediate pressure to fill, with the club apparently content to use deadline day itself as leverage against Strasbourg’s valuation, while keeping Wan-Bissaka in reserve regardless of how those talks develop.
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