Strapped for cash and struggling for strikers - the major decisions facing Everton as it stands

It’s really not so long ago that Everton’s ownership announced both their intentions and their abilities by signing a string of expensive and ultimately underperforming number tens in a fit of misdirected largesse that has stunted the club’s growth ever since.

Now, with FFP regulations to consider and a no-doubt stunning new stadium to pay for, things are just a bit quieter on the transfer front. Which is to say that a club who didn’t so much flirt with relegation as have a passionate affair with it haven’t really done any business of note as they head into another season which could so easily be disastrous.

To be fair – pre-season form has been impressive. But as we all know, that means precious little in the real world, and Everton are a club who direly need a refresh up front. And probably in midfield. Maybe defence, too. There’s a reason they finished 17^th, after all. So what is still on Everton’s agenda, and what can they do to give themselves a fighting chance come 2024? Let’s take a look at the incomings, outgoings and decision points in prospect over the last month of the transfer window - such as they are.

Striking struggles

Only Wolves scored fewer goals than Everton last season, so it’s hardly a shock that the front line has come in for some attention from the scouting department – and even less so when you consider that their only effective striker, Dominic Calver-Lewin, has spent the better part of two years on a treatment table and their only serious creative force, Dwight McNeil, is on one now. They need to find some goals, and fast.

It is perhaps more surprising that grizzled old campaigner Sean Dyche seems to have prioritised youth in his search for attacking returns. Willy Gnonto of Leeds United has been a constant on the Everton shopping list, they missed out on El Bilal Touré when he chose to join Atalanta instead, Club Brugge’s Antonio Nusa has been mentioned, and several other talented but callow young forwards have been linked with a switch to Goodison Park. They do not, collectively, seem to have been especially enthusiastic about it.

Mercifully, Sporting Lisbon’s Youssef Chermiti seems to have been persuaded, and the 19-year-old is expected to arrive in the near future to attempt to build upon his lifetime tally of four league goals. Everton will hope that he is successful.

Regardless of the young Portuguese player’s prospects – or the quality of Arnaut Danjuma, who joins on loan from Villarreal to bolster the wings – it’s clear that Everton need another goalscorer, one who isn’t likely to have constant fitness issues, has genuine top-tier experience, and isn’t Neal Maupay.

Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City has come up in conversation, as has Brennan Johnson. The former may be Everton’s most reliable bet, and would add a bit of experience and raw pace that is sorely missing as it stands.

Elsewhere, Everton look extremely thin at left-back, where Vitaliy Mykolenko is the only recognised starter, and they’ll also look rather light in midfield if Amadou Onana leaves – something which is starting to look a bit less likely, mercifully. Birmingham City’s gifted 19-year-old Jordan James, who can play as a wing-back or a holding midfielder, is another spectacularly inexperienced option named in the newspapers.

Everton don’t have much cash to spend, but they desperately need to spend what they do have well to fill out the front line – and they could do with someone who can provide video evidence that they know where the back of the net is. They have not done a great job on that front so far.

Onana up for sale but outgoings will be few

In terms of departures, there isn’t an especially deep pool of potential leavers to draw from. Onana has been linked with Manchester United, but that case seems to have grown cold, especially with the club struggling to offload Fred or Scott McTominay for a fee that they’re happy with. At 21 years of age he is their most saleable asset, however, and the ownership are unlikely to resist any serious bidders as they try to ameliorate the costs of the Bramley Moore Dock development - even if it would be a clear mistake to let the Belgian go from a purely footballing perspective. They do at least have some experience in midfield even after Tom Davies left on a free.

Demarai Gray seems more likely to leave, with Crystal Palace keen on his signature. The arrival of Danjuma may have been the first step towards bidding the Jamaica international farewell, although a senior player leaving for a few million may not be ideal when attacking resources are so thin. That said, his performances as a makeshift striker last season didn’t inspire much confidence or produce many goals.

Speaking of forwards who have struggled to stand out in Everton blue, Neal Maupay has been shopped around the Championship and lower reaches of the Premier League, without success so far. The Frenchman managed just one goal in 29 games last year – another frontline failure for the Toffees who needs to be shifted onwards.

Outside of that, don’t expect too much movement. Young forward Thomas Cannon, who played 20 games for Preston after Christmas, could be given some more development opportunities in the second tier, but given that he scored eight goals he may easily end up being kept around. If Calvert-Lewin is injured or unfit, Cannon could press a case for being Everton’s most proven central striker.

Everton are in something of a financial hole for the next few years, with the enormous cost of their new ground forcing them to become a selling club – but aside from Onana, they also lack high-value assets. Any young players that do establish themselves (perhaps Jarrad Branthwaite or Nathan Patterson) will likely be auctioned off swiftly – but the need to buy low and sell high is pressing, which may explain the very youthful look of their shortlisted incomings…

It’s hard not to feel a little bleak about Everton’s immediate future. Until the stadium is up and running and the fiscal situation normalises, everything is about survival, and survival while keeping the club in the black (or at least not too deep into the red). There will be a lot of scrimping and saving, and there are unlikely to be inspiring signings this summer. But perhaps if one or two shrewd signings can be made, and a couple of young guns fire quickly, the future can still look pretty rosy. Perhaps.