Everton summer transfer window state of play as Malick Fofana and five more targeted

Everton summer transfer window state of play as Malick Fofana and five more targeted

Work is continuing with the club said to be active on 'multiple fronts' as Adam Aznou deal moves closer

David Moyes watches Everton against Bournemouth in New Jersey. Photo by Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

Everton hope to make continued progress in the transfer market over the coming weeks but David Moyes’ squad rebuild is expected to go into the final days of the summer.

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The Blues pushed each of the last two windows to the final minutes - requiring additional time to complete the loan deals that brought Armando Broja to the club last summer and then Carlos Alcaraz to Merseyside in February. The hope is that a frantic finale to deadline day can be avoided, though new CEO Angus Kinnear has urged supporters to postpone passing judgement until September 2, the day after business has closed.

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Despite the request for patience, no-one at the club is in any doubt more work needs to be done, with the teamsheet released before the US tour opener against Bournemouth having laid bare the difference that still exists between an upwardly mobile Everton and one of the clubs they would like to catch.

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Despite being without James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite and Michael Keane due to injury, Everton produced a positive opening 45 minutes to the Premier League’s Summer Series tournament in New Jersey.

The strength of their opponents became clear in the second half, however. Andoni Iraola was able to turn to the likes of Antoine Semenyo, who hit 11 goals in the league last year, and Philip Billing, who was sent on loan to Napoli, where he won Serie A, among his 14-strong bench. Moyes had nine players in his dugout, including Under-18s winger Justin Clarke and fellow academy prospects such as Aled Thomas and Isaac Heath. After the 3-0 defeat , he acknowledged it had been a struggle for him to field a team.

Building a squad fit for the new era at Everton has proved difficult so far. Progress has been made, with Mark Travers joining from Bournemouth to act as Jordan Pickford’s understudy and Alcaraz being signed on a permanent deal after his match-winning exploits at the end of the campaign. France U21s striker Thierno Barry has been the most expensive addition, though Moyes has stressed the £27m forward is raw and will require patience.

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Adam Aznou is expected to become the fourth addition after Everton reached a deal in the region of £7.8m for the Bayern Munich left back. The teenager will offer much-needed competition and cover for Vitalii Mykolenko, should the move be completed. There is hope it will be done in time for him to join his new teammates in Atlanta for the final days of the US trip.

At 19, Aznou will represent another addition designed to bolster Everton’s longer term future. With Alcaraz and Barry, both 22, he would underline an approach that has seen the club invest in promising talent it is hoped will grow with Everton’s ambitions.

There is an understanding that older, more experienced players will be needed to add immediate quality and experience to a club that said goodbye to a dozen senior players last month - including Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure, both of whom had been features of the first team for several years.

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The new contracts agreed with Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane and Idrissa Gueye have allowed Moyes to maintain a seasoned core to the squad but younger players who have been exposed to top flight football and are hitting their peak years are desired.

They are proving tough to acquire at this stage of the window - particularly because Everton, in a new position of financial stability after the takeover by US firm the Friedkin Group (TFG), do not want to spend for the sake of spending.

Moyes acknowledged the challenges he has faced to date in an interview with the Athletic. On Friday, he said: “We’re up against it. If we’re going for players, we’re not going for bad players . Our attraction is maybe to some younger ones who are up and coming, or also those from lower leagues. In those cases, it is not a problem. But if you’re trying to take players who have had European experience or playing at the top end, they’re the ones where the ones we will find it harder to attract.”

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Despite new financial and boardroom strength, a fine finish to last season and the looming move to the stunning Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton are finding it tough to shake off the reputational damage of recent internal strife and relegation battles. Being unable to offer European football - which nine of the other 19 Premier League clubs can this season - has also been tough.

Moyes said at the weekend the club had “ been in for a lot of really good players ”, adding: “Unfortunately, a lot of them have said no at the moment.”

The feeling is that, for all Everton can offer, the higher-profile targets still have doubts over how far the club can go so soon after the nadir of two relegation fights that went to the final week of the season and the landmark double points deductions for breaching league spending regulations.

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Missed targets to date include the winger Francisco Conceicao, who made his move to Juventus from Porto permanent after a season on loan in Turin, and Liam Delap, who opted to join Chelsea over the fleet of clubs pursuing his signature following Ipswich Town’s relegation. The Blues also lined up Fulham defender Kenny Tete on a free transfer only to then see him opt for a new deal at Craven Cottage after the club, prompted by Everton’s advances, stepped up efforts to convince him to stay.

The reality, Moyes said, is that: “We need them to want to come. They have to come and buy in a wee bit to what Everton have got, the culture here. There’s a strong, hard-working ethic and we want to build on it and bring in more quality.”

The Scot, speaking publicly for the first time this summer, told an audience in New York that he wanted 10 new signings - including those already secured. That figure is one the wider club mechanism is also working towards, with Kinnear and player trading specialist Nick Hammond said to be working hard to make Moyes’ ambition a reality.

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The club is currently active on multiple fronts but, eager to avoid being dragged into protracted negotiations, is trying to start talks by gauging whether a deal is genuinely realistic before committing to detailed discussions. Such talks are ongoing with Lyon over 20-year-old winger Malick Fofana but there is an acceptance competition is fierce for the Belgium international. Tyler Dibling, of relegated Southampton, is also of real interest.

Takefusa Kubo, another wide option, has been on the Blues’ radar but the club has taken a step back from launching a pursuit for the Real Sociedad star for the time being. Senior figures at the La Liga outfit have stressed they do not want to sell the 24-year-old and the club is operating from a position of strength with the Japan international having four years left on his deal and Sociedad having already secured a £51m fee for Martin Zubimendi, who moved to Arsenal this summer. Club sources continue to respond with surprise at the strength of reports in Italy linking them to Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz - but an experienced central midfielder is considered a priority.

There remains a sense this summer could throw up surprises and Everton could soon need to weigh up whether to compromise on some areas of its summer strategy, either by revisiting some players previously overlooked or by showing a willingness to spend a little more freely in order to secure targets.

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For now, there is no panic - though there is an acceptance a lot of important work remains to be done. The club is, for instance, expected to utilise the loan market but that side of the transfer window is yet to gather momentum with parent clubs like Manchester City still hoping to bring in transfer fees for those on the periphery of their squads.

For Everton, the work that remains to be done is acting as a barrier to its own plans. The squad is simply not deep enough to consider allowing senior players to leave on loan at this stage of the summer. That is despite several players being likely to need first team minutes to continue their development should the coming weeks see them pushed down the pecking order.

There has been interest in several figures within the pre-season squad, with Sheffield United among those looking at Tim Iroegbunam - who started against Bournemouth. Nathan Patterson, a regular in pre-season to date, is attracting interest from France, Italy and Germany, while 18-year-old midfield starlet Harrison Armstrong is being monitored by clubs in the Championship and the Bundesliga as Moyes considers whether to make him part of his plans after his stunning breakthrough year.

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The squad remains lightweight after a swathe of departures last month as Everton seek to transition from the chaotic teambuilding of the Farhad Moshiri reign to a more strategic, sustained outlook under TFG.

Of those who left, goalkeeper Joao Virginia has joined Sporting, Mason Holgate has moved to Qatar and Al Gharafa and Jesper Lindstrom has joined Wolfsburg on loan from Napoli. Jack Harrison has featured in Daniel Farke’s pre-season plans at Leeds United while Ashley Young has joined Ipswich Town.

Young, now 40, told Sky Sports on Monday: “I was disappointed not to be offered a new contract but that is behind me now and I have got to come here now and produce the goods on the pitch. I know I can go out and play well… playing that much in the Premier League last season at my age was fantastic.”

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