Everton Transfer Rumours: 6 Players David Moyes Should Target Before August 31

With the new season less than a week away, Everton look set to initially compete without acquiring a single new acquisition likely to threaten their starting XI. Already in the latter stages of the transfer window, David Moyes is likely to be frantically assessing where, if at all, he can supplement his current squad before transfer business closes at the end of August. 

As most will be aware, without selling, Everton are simply unable to buy. Therefore predicting realistic future signings is a testing task. At the start of the summer it was assumed that the club envisaged selling Yakubu, Joseph Yobo, and other fringe players such as Jan Mucha or Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. With these players offloaded, David Moyes would then receive just enough to begin strengthening his current squad. 

Sadly, it has not been that simple. The footballing landscape in Turkey fell into chaos due to match-fixing scandals, causing Yobo’s move to Fenerbahce to become postponed. The Nigerian is still waiting for this deal to happen now. His compatriot Yakubu has then frustratingly failed to agree terms with various teams, after Everton supposedly accepted bids. Any further interest in other fringe players has yet to materialise in a transfer window where few sides (top four apart) have made many bold forays.

In need of income, the idea of selling a bigger name such as Jack Rodwell or Phil Jagielka has also been pondered. What is almost certain is that for Everton to gain new players by September without selling, it will be via the loan market or via a more complex swap deal. 

With no money to compete with, potential targets are unlikely to capture the imagination of most Evertonians. However, reinforcements will be essential to Everton’s season, as there is little depth behind a strong first XI. With Seamus Coleman’s recent injury, wingers and strikers dominate the search, two positions where Everton have few choices.  

David Bentley

A few seasons back the sight of David Bentley with a ball at his feet, poised to deliver or primed to shoot, was one of the most feared spectacles for a defence. His progression from Arsenal to Norwich then on to Blackburn moulded him into a player capable of breaking down the most durable of defences. However, once he achieved his big money transfer to Tottenham, his continued ascension in the game began to dither, before regressing. 

Allowed to leave for Birmingham on loan last January after also being targeted by Everton, the glut of options available at Tottenham means a similar transaction may await Bentley before the end of August. If that were to be the case, he is likely to be one of the players David Moyes is presently mulling over to fill a role on the wing. 

Few players attainable on loan can boast such a wealth of Premier League experience as Bentley. Many may flag the fact he failed to dazzle on loan at Birmingham last season, but the climate he faced there would contrast what he would find at Everton. Given the chance, David Moyes would be confident of unearthing his previous talents and developing his career forward once again. 

Bentley’s ability to produce pristine delivery from the right would also play into the hands of Tim Cahill and Louis Saha. Teams will potentially begin doubling up on Leighton Baines next season in an effort to thwart Everton’s production. Were Bentley to produce from the right, he may receive less focus, stretch the opposition and swell production.

Peter Crouch

A rumour surfacing this weekend is that Everton are attempting to hijack Stoke City’s quest to sign Peter Crouch, by bidding £10 million for the forward. Whilst Everton bidding £10 million is surely as likely as the Toffees lifting the Premier League trophy this season (you never know), Crouch is a player who may well become available.  

Jack Rodwell has been highlighted in the media as a part of a potential swap deal. This should go no further. Rodwell has been targeted in many Everton forums for a weak season last term. Currently, he resembles a player low on confidence, feeling the weight of expectation. 

However, given a steady run in the team, as he seems likely to get, he should perform this season. He has an outrageous amount of potential to not succeed in the game and after all, he has only experienced one poor year. It takes time figuring out how to retaliate to failure when you are accustomed to succeeding, as he has throughout his entire youth career. Should Rodwell stutter again, it may simply become time for him to remodel himself into the centre back everyone initially thought he would become. 

For these reasons, involving Rodwell could prove unwise, he should still blossom, although Crouch is a player that would undoubtedly transform Everton’s attacking prowess. The Toffees are in dire need of a striker than can hold the ball up in advanced areas. As many Evertonians will testify, last season Everton were guilty of continually passing laterally, patiently seeking an opening. Eventually they would loose patience, thrust the ball towards a forward who would generally then be wrestled off the ball. 

Crouch may be able to provide the glue in the final third to allow Everton’s midfielders to advance into more threatening positions. A further option in the air would also detract attention away from Tim Cahill, making one of the Premier League’s most lethal targets in the air potentially more potent. Finally, if Everton are behind in a game, the tendency has been for Phil Neville, Phil Jagielka and others to desperately loft the ball forward, to little effect. Crouch’s presence would potentially heighten the percentage of this being successful and create a new base for Everton to attack from. 

With the competition at Spurs, Roman Pavlyuchenko’s recent comments and Tottenham’s continued flirting with new strikers, it seems likely a forward or two will move on from White Hart Lane. To obtain Crouch, Everton must create a deal possibly involving a swap, or even try gaining a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer.

Shaun Wright-Phillips

Signing Shaun Wright-Phillips would be a deal not likely to thrill the majority of Everton fans. However, as with Peter Crouch, the England international is a player that fills a number of glaring voids in David Moyes’ squad and is far more reachable than most players of his calibre. 

Everton’s midfield is likely to consist of five men next season. If Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini, Jack Rodwell, Leon Osman and potentially Ross Barkley and Diniyar Bilyaledinov contest the places, then not only is that entire group of players primarily central midfielders (apart from Bilyaletdinov), but none possess an abundance of pace, trickery, or the ability to ghost past an opposition full back in the manner of Shaun Wright-Phillips. 

With Manchester City’s assets blooming, Wright-Phillips will find competition even more vicious next season. Last year he only appeared in seven league games, starting merely two. In all likelihood he will struggle to appear as much as that this coming season, in which case a move away will be likely. 

Roberto Mancini has announced how Wright-Phillips, a player held in high esteem by most at Manchester City, will be allowed to seek action elsewhere if he chooses. Bolton Wanderers have already made their interest known and several others may vie for his signature. If teams begin offering cash, Everton will struggle to compete. However, if a loan deal becomes the most likely procedure, David Moyes should be keen to deal for the winger.

Lewis Holtby

Holtby is a player many Evertonians would enjoy seeing play at Goodison Park. A passionate Evertonian, due to his Liverpudlian father, the young German international has already delivered several quotes highlighting his love for Everton. 

Holtby would address Everton’s requirement of a winger. He possesses energy, creativity, a low centre of gravity and an impressive left foot. He is keen to take players on, and to liken him to a present Premier League player, his pace and trickery resemble that of Adam Johnson. Skills Everton desperately require.

Whilst convincing the player to come to Everton would not be difficult, finding a deal that suits Schalke would be the tricky aspect. Loaned out twice previously, it seems however impressively Holtby performed last season, he is not yet thought of as a first team regular at Schalke. Perhaps a single loan deal can be agreed, with a small fee, allowing Holtby to achieve a lifelong dream by pulling on the Everton shirt. 

As with every player on this list, if it suddenly becomes apparent that a transfer fee is the only way to attain the winger, then without selling, courting Holtby may be fruitless. However, were an agreement possible, Holtby would provide Everton with a player instantly able to help David Moyes with his search for a winger, and provide supporters with an instant fan favourite.

Aiden McGeady

Everton made their summer lust for winger Charles N’Zogbia as transparent as possible, hoping it might cause his move to Aston Villa to stutter, enabling David Moyes time to generate funds and enter the bidding. As N’Zogbia will now don the claret and blue shades next season, a move for a winger will continue to occupy agendas at Goodison Park.

Earlier in the summer a swap deal was briefly mooted involving Aiden McGeady and Everton’s Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. Whilst that concept remained in gossip columns merely a day, McGeady’s name lingered with N’Zogbia’s in connection with Aston Villa as they sought a new winger. Now that Villa have secured the services of the player most coveted by Everton, it makes sense for Everton to investigate the logistics it would take to move for McGeady. 

Were that swap deal with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov potentially viable, Everton should rip off any hypothetically extended hand and add as much as they can find to sweeten the deal. As reluctant as Spartak Moscow would be to see McGeady depart, the winger is likely to favour a move to the Premier League. Traditionally, British players tend to struggle adapting to conditions in Russia and seek a move as soon as an opportunity presents itself.

Admittedly, McGeady is most likely to command a fee Everton cannot match. Should a figure such as Phil Jagielka or Jack Rodwell be ushered out of Everton, McGeady is a player who could solve several of Everton’s weaknesses and therefore a decent amount of potential income could be aimed at his purchase which would hugely strengthen Everton.

As discussed, Everton lack a player possessing pace and skill and a tendency to take on opponents, criteria McGeady matches. Any deal Moyes can conjure up would most likely be intricate in detail and rely on several independent factors. If there was any possibility of bringing the Irishman to Everton, especially via the form of a swap, McGeady should be targeted instantly. 

Federico Macheda

Everton are in desperate need of a striker, and Macheda is a player itching to be given a platform to express himself. The Italian has shown mere glimpses of star quality, impressing during his fleeting appearances at Old Trafford. Presently he has come to the stage where first team action is becoming imperative to his development. 

He was among the goals preseason and his finishing has always been admired by Sir Alex Ferguson. Yet with so many options blocking his path to the first team at Manchester United, it is highly likely he will be given the chance to play on loan. After sending him to Sampdoria last year, United may now be keen to see how he measures up in the Premier League. 

Early last season Everton bossed several games without managing to finish off their opponents. Macheda is a player capable of converting chances and somebody who would be keen to contribute in a position Everton lack bodies. He boasts predatory instincts that could become highly appreciated by the Goodison Park faithful.  

Macheda has managed four goals in 16 Premier League appearances, spread across three seasons. Last year he managed only seven Premier League games. Surely a spell at Everton would hand him several further opportunities to enhance his reputation whilst providing options for Everton up front. 

Obviously players like Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Salomon Kalou and other strikers down the pecking order at big sides should all be targeted by Everton. However, many of those names have enjoyed impressive preseason campaigns and if they are to become available for loan, it is more likely to be in January, after being given a chance to impress at their clubs. Of all the names, Macheda seems the most likely to be available now. 

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