Everton January transfer news as Jesse Lingard claim brings back Juan Roman Riquelme memories

Everton January transfer news as Jesse Lingard claim brings back Juan Roman Riquelme memories

Everton’s director of football, Kevin Thelwell,

said that the team is unlikely to sign any players because “financial prudence is crucial,”

thus it’s expected that the transfer window will be quiet.

An independent panel found in November 2023 that the Blues had violated the Premier League’s financial laws,

and as a result, they were deducted 10 points.

Everton is currently just above the relegation spots in the Premier League rankings,

near the bottom, despite having filed an appeal against the deduction.

The Blues added Arnaut Danjuma and Jack Harrison on loan during the summer transfer window,

while they also signed Ashley Young, Youssef Chermiti, and Beto as permanent additions.

Previous January additions that have proven to be big hits include Steven Pienaar,

Seamus Coleman, and Jarrad Branthwaite.

Our staff of writers will be providing you with regular updates on

the most recent rumours and news on Everton transfers.

Plans for Everton’s January transfers revealed

January 1: Goodison Park’s director of football Kevin Thelwell has called for a “low key” transfer window,

but if there’s one thing Everton fans have learned recently, it’s to anticipate the unexpected.

A year or so ago, the Blues were fighting desperately to stay in the Premier League,

and many believed that the team needed new faces, especially in the attacking departments,

with Thelwell personally pursuing a pair of acquisitions.

In the end, Everton became the only team in the relegation struggle not to bolster their roster.

Before the month was over, the team would replace manager Frank Lampard with Sean Dyche.

This time, a 10-point deduction guarantees Dyche’s team a spot above the drop zone entering 2024,

although that is a fictitious position based on on-field performance.

Despite a hectic December that saw four straight wins,

a Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out exit, and three straight Premier League losses for his exhausted players,

there is growing confidence that this group is strong enough to not need any major adjustments at this time.

Additionally, the ongoing waiting period for a proposed takeover of the club makes big business unlikely,

but who knows? Maybe the Blues could surprise everyone.

Complex Everton loan recall

January 2: As the Championship promotion contenders drew at Norwich City yesterday,

Mason Holgate was not included in the Southampton matchday roster,

which further fueled concerns over his future on the south coast.

This month, the centre back’s loan agreement will be closely examined from every perspective,

and Everton has the chance to call him back thanks to the transfer window.

Holgate hasn’t played much for Southampton,

which is upsetting because he was named player of the match during

the team’s victory over West Bromwich Albion in November.

His only desire is to play football, which is why he first agreed to drop into the Championship.

It’s unclear, though, how he comes to it.

With 18 games played without a loss,

Southampton is now only three points behind Ipswich Town for the second automatic promotion slot.

Given that Holgate’s performance against West Brom was insufficient,

it is difficult to see how he can crack into manager Russell Martin’s preferred lineup.

However, the club is covering a sizable portion of his salary and intends to do

so for the duration of the season-long loan arrangement it reached with Everton.

For Everton, this implies that helping him get a game somewhere else is more complicated than just recalling him.

A club that strives to run its finances responsibly must consider the terms of the agreement,

and the Blues would forfeit Southampton’s pay contribution to Holgate should they decide to terminate the loan.

Perhaps the only way this can be addressed in a way that benefits all sides would be

if a different team made a bid for him and agreed to pay for a portion of his salary,

with Southampton covering the difference so Everton would not suffer a financial loss.

In this manner, Holgate would play, Southampton’s contributions would be lessened,

and Everton would gain monetarily from having Holgate in the lineup.

Compared to this time last year, when a separate centre back loan agreement was not working well,

things are different now.

When Jarrad Branthwaite was at PSV Eindhoven in the early half of the previous season,

his prospects were limited, which led to talks between Kevin Thelwell and the Dutch giants.

Taking use of the opportunities presented to him in the new year,

Branthwaite embarked on an incredible 2023 that culminated in his establishment in the Everton first squad.

The player’s development was the main concern in the transaction, which is why it was crucial that he play.

After a year, he has become one of Europe’s most sought-after prospects and may attract attention this month.

With a strong group surrounding him, Branthwaite has maintained his composure as he has ascended.

It is understood that starting games at the highest level,

which he enjoys doing at Everton,

is the greatest thing for his development and any possible push for the senior England squad.

Riquelme’s ‘allure’ is superior to Lingard’s.

January 3: With his constant connections to Everton every time a new transfer window opens,

Jesse Lingard is starting to resemble a modern-day Juan Roman Riquelme.

The Warrington-born attacking midfielder appears to

be less popular with Evertonians than the Argentinian international playmaker,

who used to send many Blues into a frenzy whenever he was believed to be headed to Goodison Park.

When deadline day rolled around in the early 2000s,

it seemed like everyone in Merseyside had seen different sightings of Riquelme,

whether it was at John Lennon Airport or emerging from the Hot Wok.

When a story saying that he was travelling from Spain surfaced on

the club’s official website one Monday morning in July 2007, the rumours reached their peak.

Soon after the ‘news’ began to circulate on Everton forums,

the Everton website swiftly took down the piece,

releasing a statement that said the previous release was

“completely untrue and appeared as a result of a technical error that occurred

during some maintenance work on the site.”

In January 2024, the Daily Mail reports that Everton is

considering offering Lingard another chance at Premier League football,

however it takes until the fifth paragraph of the piece to find out his identity.

The former Manchester United player,

who had trials with Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia but

has been training since a contract did not materialise,

“could be an alluring option,” according to rumours that the Blues are looking for low-cost solutions.

It’s unclear how much of a draw Lingard is as a free agent.

He was released by Nottingham Forest last summer after failing to score in 17 Premier League games,

even though Everton contemplated a move for the player

in the summer of 2022 when memories of an outstanding

loan spell at West Ham United in the second half of 2020–21,

where he netted nine times in 16 outings,

were still vivid in the player’s mind.

The England international is a proven Premier League performer

who would represent a modest financial outlay,

and those same ticks that attracted the Blues 18 months ago could still apply.

Although the player is currently 31 years old,

age has never been a barrier for Sean Dyche,

who this season made his former teammate Ashley Young the oldest outfield debutant in club history at 38.

But a year after the transfer window ended and

director of football Kevin Thelwell disregarded Everton’s lack of signings by arguing that

the quality of players available wasn’t high enough, there would be doubts about bringing

in a player who couldn’t make a deal in the desert at a team where

the Blues sent Demarai Grey to a team that hasn’t won a game in more than two months,

and the ECHO is aware that Everton has not expressed interest.

Get more related news on https://dailysportnews.co.uk