My tour of Premier League clubs would use up a lot of petrol money as after going from North London to Manchester then Liverpool and back down to Chelsea it’s lucky I’m not driving as I know focus my attentions back on Merseyside.
Ronald Koeman has taken the reigns at Goodison Park and is being handsomely paid for the privilege. At £6m a year he now becomes one of the highest earning managers in world football not only that but thanks to Farhad Moshiri’s investment he has a transfer war chest ready to spend.
That will no doubt mean that new faces are set to be installed in the blue half of Merseyside but it will almost mean players will be departing, but unlike the clubs that finished above them last season they may have trouble holding onto their top stars. Let’s see who could be for the Everton exit in the next few weeks.
John Stones
Ronald Koeman has gone on record and said that if John Stones is to leave Goodison Park this Summer then he won’t be leaving for any less than £50m. That price will scare off many potential suitors and is £10m more than Jose Mourinho bidded when in charge of Chelsea last Summer.
Now that Mourinho has taken the reigns at Manchester United could he be tempted to put in a bid for the England international. You would imagine with international teammate Chris Smalling in the side and new signing Eric Bailly already purchased that a centre back isn’t going to be the top priority for Mourinho.
But that doesn’t rule out a move to Manchester altogether as Pep Guardiola is in the market for defensive reinforcements and he certainly won’t be put off by the large price tag that is being demanded. Stones did come in for criticism from an element of the Goodison fanbase and performances did suffer off the back of it, perhaps a move away could rejuvenate him and then both City and England can reap the rewards
Romelu Lukaku
If Stones is worth £50m then Lukaku has to be approaching £70m. On his day he is unplayable but for someone with a price tag so high those days are a few and far between. Euro 2016 saw the best and worst of the former Chelsea forward.
And it’s Chelsea who are believed to be leading a whole host of clubs for his signature in what would be a pretty costly return to Stamford Bridge. Sold by Jose Mourinho back in 2014 he has chipped in 43 goals in 104 league appearances and last season saw an Everton career best of 18 goals.
All the signs are there that Lukaku is going to be one of Europe’s best strikers in the years to come but you get the feeling he is going to need to move from Everton to finally turn all that potential into a glittering career
Aiden McGeady
Signed back in 2014 it’s fair to say that the Republic Of Ireland winger’s career at Everton hasn’t been all that of a success. His first two seasons saw 32 league appearances and the return of only 1 solitary goal. Things went even worse for McGeady as he was frozen out of Roberto Martinez’s plans.
Some salvation to his career was found with a loan spell at Hillsborough as Sheffield Wednesday gained the services of the ex Celtic and Spartak Moscow man. A three month stint at the end of last season saw him play 13 games in The Championship as the Yorkshire side went all the way to the Play-Off final.
At 30 years old and with the position he plays in you get the feeling that his best days are behind him and his time as a Premier League level player are all but over. That said he could still do a job if was to make a permanent move to a team a level below. Don’t be surprised if he once again links up with Carlos Carvalhal at Sheffield Wednesday
Bryan Oviedo
With Leighton Baines now in competition with Brendan Galloway for the Left Back spot it means that Bryan Oviedo has moved further down the pecking order at Goodison and you would think that he will now be surplus to Ronald Koeman’s requirements.
His four years at the club have been hampered by injuries and that coupled with failing to replace Baines on a permanent basis has meant that he has only managed 44 Premier League appearances during that time. At 26 years old the Costa Rican international may now feel that a move away and regular first team football may be beneficial after a stop start period of his career at Everton.