Everton quiet summer deal looks inspired after Brighton transfer U

Everton quiet summer deal looks inspired after Brighton transfer U-turn and final talks

Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas looks at Michael Keane's value to the side after an impressive start to the campaign by the centre back

It already feels more significant than it did at the time. As the end of June approached it started to look as though Michael Keane’s stint with Everton would not stretch into the new era that has now dawned on the club.

A new deal had not been announced and the centre back appeared destined to join the dozen or so team-mates in departing Merseyside during a summer squad overhaul.

There was a degree of surprise that was the scenario playing out. David Moyes had turned to Keane after James Tarkowski’s campaign ended prematurely with a rare injury suffered against Manchester City in April.

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Keane excelled in his place, scoring in the win at Fulham and keeping a Newcastle United desperate to clinch Champions League football at bay on the final day of the campaign.

After the victory at Craven Cottage, Moyes went out of his way to bring the defender into the conversation, saying: “Michael Keane, who has had some difficult times, played so well today and was immense for the goal off the corner. He’s a great boy and showed his professionalism."

It felt as though the Blues was pushing towards a new deal for Keane and then… silence. As it happened, both parties were exploring their options.

Keane had spent much of the past 18 months courted by clubs outside the UK, with US and Italian sides among those to have tracked him as he moved towards the end of his deal. Sheffield United were one of the teams plotting a move in the event they were promoted to the Premier League. That prospect fell apart when the Blades were defeated by Sunderland in the Championship play-off final.

Meanwhile, as Everton sought to exploit a long-dreamed-of opportunity to reduce a wage bill inflated by the excess of the regime of former owner Farhad Moshiri, the club also looked elsewhere. It went so far as to line up a replacement - a deal was agreed with Brighton for the centre back Adam Webster.

But as June moved toward its end, and as Moyes became increasingly aware of the scale of the challenge he faced this summer, one final set of talks with Keane yielded a compromise both sides were happy with.

Given the scale of ambition this summer and with the window representing the club’s first foray into the transfer market freed from regulatory constraints for several years, the new one-year contract did not catch the imagination in the way the signings of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling would in the weeks that followed.

Keane’s retention has proved every bit as vital as the introduction of the attacking talent ahead of him, however.

With Tarkowski starting the season after a summer hampered by his recovery from that serious hamstring issue, Jarrad Branthwaite suffering his own hamstring problem and the reliance on Jake O’Brien to continue to provide cover after the failure to find a new right back - the one stain on an otherwise impressive summer of business - Keane’s presence has been invaluable.

In a defence that, at various times, has been a patchwork of square pegs in round holes - central midfielder James Garner having started at left back in three of the four league games to date - Keane has been solid and dependable.

Where the defence has had lapses, such as those that gave vanquished opponents Brighton and Wolves opportunities to avoid defeat to the new-look Blues, the fault has not been Keane’s. Operating behind a midfield weakened by the need to pull Garner out of position, and on the left side of a defence without Vitalii Mykolenko to his side, he has faced instability and increased pressure.

So far, Keane has handled it all - his man-of-the-match award in the goalless draw against Aston Villa at the weekend testament to his consistency. It took a stunning Emi Martinez save to deprive him of a winner in that game too - though maybe that should not be a surprise given Jordan Pickford and Tarkowski have both recently named him as their preferred striker in an Everton five-a-side team.

The past year has been some journey for the 32-year-old. There was apprehension when he started last season as cover for Branthwaite - concern that was not helped by a generally torrid start in which Everton lost their first four games and conceded 13 goals in the process.

As the club rebounded in autumn it was with Keane at the back and his merciless strike in the win at Ipswich Town was symbolic of his change in fortunes as he was serenaded with new-found appreciation from the away end.

He was unfortunate to lose his place to the returning Branthwaite and, when he suffered a torrid return as a second-half replacement for Tarkowski against Man City, there felt a danger his Everton career would end with his restored image once again tarnished.

Keane himself was content to acknowledge he had a bad afternoon that day. But, as he has done time and time again, he displayed the resilience needed to win back plaudits with that run of displays at the end of the season.

Even though both parties explored their options, it was that form - and the value of his presence behind-the-scenes - that convinced Moyes to try one final push to retain his services.

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