Everton FC: 5 Toffees Who May Be Off in January

Despite being a club that seldom participate in the January transfer window, Everton could feasibly feature quite prominently this year. If recent takeover rumours have any trace of genuine substance, then perhaps it could even become their busiest winter window ever!

However, back to the current, bleaker situation. For so long, David Moyes has become accustomed to fielding a side desperately short of options, particularly up front. Come January, he will no doubt once again be on the look out for that elusive bargain of a striker. All summer long the Toffees unsuccessfully tried to offload their fringe players in order to spend on a forward.

On the final day of the window they suddenly received £16 million thanks to the departures of Yakubu, Jermaine Beckford and Mikel Arteta. Sadly this weighty stash all came in too late to be used, and the Toffees will now need a large portion of that sum to stall the club's antsy bank managers.

Therefore, to bolster Moyes' wallet sufficiently and for the sustainability of the club, interest in fringe players will again be monitored come January. If Everton can offload one or two more, Moyes will have a better chance of bringing in some much needed quality to strengthen his depleted side's plight.

January will also see the Toffees mull over one or two pressing contract concerns whilst attempting to stave off any clubs courting their best talent. Two agendas fans will certainly hope progress smoothly.

Here are five Toffees likely to become tabloid fodder in gossip columns concerning moves away in January. 

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov

The mercurial Russian has always been a polarising individual at Goodison Park. At times capable of the sublime, he has sadly struggled to live up to his billing and is too often a passenger in games.

This season has been his least effective in Royal Blue. He currently has a pass completion rate of just 71 percent, the lowest at the club, and when in possession he amazingly looses the ball every 34 minutes, also the worst rate at the club. He looks increasingly forlorn and dejected every time he appears for Everton and surely a change of scenery would benefit both parties here.

Brought in for almost £10 million, Everton will soon have to accept a considerable loss on the player. Were a Russian club to show interest in luring him back to a league where he previously prospered, then the Toffees would be foolish to stand in his way.

Jan Mucha

If anyone not affiliated to Everton missed Jan Mucha’s howler against Chelsea in the Carling Cup, they should really check it out. The Slovakian has been understudy to Tim Howard since the World Cup yet has never come close to staking a claim for the starting jersey. 

In his fleeting appearances for Everton, he has been anything but steady, often looking like a liability. David Moyes has recently recruited Marcus Hahnemann to shore up his options, presumably less than confident about Mucha’s ability. 

The Slovakian is still his country's number one, and surely has aspirations to remain so. However, that will not continue as forever if he stays warming Everton's bench. As with Bilyaletdinov, some sort of move may well be productive for both sides.

If not, then Mucha’s latest gaffe further illustrates how Everton would be best off advertising his services to see what interest it attracts, and then hopefully reinvest his wages elsewhere.

Johnny Heitinga

Seen at the time of his signing as a genuine coup, Heitinga has failed to convince many Evertonians he is worthy of a place on the team. He had been enduring another spell on the sidelines for much of this season and there was hardly much clamour to get the Dutchman restored to the team.

Whilst some at Goodison Park revel in his hard man image and admire his unwavering will to send most opponents tumbling to the ground after a robust tackle, his play has undeniably been erratic for Everton, often with too much rash, misplaced aggression. He has rarely held down a regular starting berth at centre back despite his respected pedigree on the world football stage.

A World Cup finalist and starting centre back for a country recently ranked number one in the world, Heitinga has been unable to usurp the internationally uncapped Sylvain Distin at the back. More often than not, if he plays, he appears as a makeshift defensive midfielder that rarely contributes enough to attack or defence.

Whilst he adds depth to Everton’s squad, the Toffees are not in a financial position to afford such luxuries and with other departments so bare, such as the striking core. Heitinga's wages and value are simply wasted on the sidelines. 

He has had a tendency of sounding out to other teams about his availability in the past. Although curiously this most recent summer (perhaps when Everton would have minded least), he remained silent in the media. Should he invite any future interest, the Toffes may well follow it through.

Marouane Fellaini

Were the first three peripheral figures on this list to depart in January, a minority may become enraged, but the masses are hardly likely to seriously revolt. However, were Marouane Fellaini to go early in 2012 there would be a siege of criticism aimed at Everton's already much slated board.

Sadly, this is a situation the Toffees may have to ponder quite seriously. The gangly Belgian has been one of Everton’s top performers this season, but is yet to renew his initial five year deal signed when he first joined the club back in the summer of 2008.

Although there have been persistent rumours that a deal will be completed, it does not take a mathematician to work out that if it does not, Everton are in real danger of losing possibly their most valuable asset at an alarming cut price. If Fellaini does not sign soon, David Moyes has already stated he may have to sell.

With such horrendous cash problems, Everton cannot and will not allow his contract to dwindle down the same way Steven Pienaar's did. Signed as the club’s record purchase for £15 million, Moyes must recoup a generous fee back on the Belgian and the best time to do this would be January, with 18 months still left to run.

Even if Fellaini does sign a new contract, there is no guarantee he would stay at Everton for the long haul. His impressive performances will not have gone unnoticed this season and, whatever his contract status, he may well be in for some prolonged flirtations from some wealthier clubs come January.

This is also why it is so vital he signs. Without a deal, and given Everton's well documented financial constraints, they are precariously limited at the bargaining table. A new contract strengthens Everton’s stance and gives them time to find the most suitable deal whilst weighing up potential replacements.

Ross Barkley

As with Marouane Fellaini, were Barkley to go in January, the Everton board may never again gain the trust of supporters. However, once again, this all hinges around a potential new deal.

Only previously able to sign a short term contract as a 17-year-old, Barkley is due to sign a bumper five year deal on his 18th birthday, the Toffees hope! The date, a month from now on the 5th December, will no doubt be illuminated on most Everton calenders.

To be fair, there are few whispers that he will do anything else but sign, despite his continual presence across media gossip columns. Barkley has been proclaimed to be the best thing out of Everton's Academy since Wayne Rooney and Evertonians will want to keep hold of their newest prize asset for as long as possible.

Still only 17, this does seem the most likely outcome, and if he signs his deal the Toffees will be in a prime position to develop his talent further and ultimately increase his value. Of course, that won't stop links to all the top clubs being filed daily in January, but Evertonians should find this irrelevant, so long as he signs in December!

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