By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
After the
international break, it is a return to club action this weekend and there will
be intrigue around the next round of Premier League fixtures as some players
should be making their debuts. Will
Christian Eriksen fill Gareth Bale’s big boots at Tottenham? Is Mesut Ozil worth the huge value Arsenal
paid out for him, and who will form the next central defensive pairing at
league leaders Liverpool?
One club who
did a lot of business on transfer deadline day were Everton. The Toffees supporters did lose Marouane
Fellaini (pictured) just before the window shut as he finally joined Manchester United for
around £27.5m. However they
strengthened their squad with three new purchases. So as they get set to welcome Chelsea on Sky’s
Saturday Night Football this weekend, have they made some smart decisions again
in the market?
Everton’s
transfer activity this summer was dominated by Manchester United’s pursuit of
the star duo Fellaini and left back Leighton Baines. David Moyes left the club for the Old
Trafford post at the end of last season, but lost a lot of respect at Goodison
by continuing his quest to sign his old players, and putting in derisory bids
including a cheap £28m for the pair.
To be fair to
both players, they got on with the job of playing football in the opening weeks
of the new season, and didn’t throw a fuss about the frenzied transfer
speculation unlike Luis Suarez and Yohan Cabaye, who were two players among a
few to throw their toys out of the pram this summer. Baines stuck to his professional approach
that has won him many fans, both for club and country. Ultimately, nothing happened to him on
deadline day and he remains an Everton player.
Contract talks have now been opened with the left back to ensure his old
boss doesn’t return with another cheeky bid in January.
Fellaini
always looked more likely to go. He
ended up having to force through a transfer request in the closing hours to get
the move he wanted. Everton have got
excellent money for a player who has shown his class in the top flight, but
also had some fairly mediocre campaigns on Merseyside. The most important thing for new manager
Roberto Martinez to do was to replace Fellaini and he has managed to do that in
abundance.
The loan
signing of Gareth Barry from Manchester City is an excellent move for all
parties. Barry was only going to sit on
the bench all season, and knows that any hopes of getting back into Roy Hodgson’s
England plans depend on getting first team football. The 32-year-old, who almost moved to the
region when Liverpool courted him throughout the summer of 2008 when an Aston
Villa player, will play week in, week out, bring a calming assurance to the
middle of the park and adds crucial experience.
He effectively fills the void left by the now retired Phil Neville and
if he plays well this season at Goodison, he might even work his way back into
Manuel Pellegrini’s thinking at City next season, even if that sounds unlikely
now.
Barry has
been joined by James McCarthy who looks like a totally natural replacement for
Fellaini. McCarthy and Martinez know
each other well from their Wigan days, and the Republic of Ireland
international was instrumental in the Latics’ shock run to glory in the FA Cup
last season. A player who has been
targeted in the past by the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal to join Everton is a
good switch. Plus, only half of the
Fellaini fee has been spent on McCarthy, so once again a profit has been made
by the always dependable owner Bill Kenwright.
Kenwright
might not have the financial clout of the Abu Dhabi group at Manchester City,
or Roman Abramovich at Chelsea but if Everton do sell players, they always seem
to make a good profit out of transactions in the transfer market.
To top off an
outstanding final day of business, Everton and Martinez managed to persuade
Romelu Lukaku to spend the season on loan from Chelsea. Lukaku was one of the Premier League’s
hottest properties last term during his fruitful spell on loan at West
Brom. If anyone saw his final day
hat-trick against the champions in May, you will know that this attacker is
only going to get better and better. In
fact I haven’t seen this much raw talent in a finisher in the Premier League
since Robbie Fowler broke into the Liverpool side as a kid in 1993-94. That’s how much I personally rate Lukaku.
Chelsea will
bring Lukaku back next season, and a lot of people are surprised to have seen
Jose Mourinho let him go this season, perhaps because Demba Ba wanted to stay
and Fernando Torres never looked on the cards for a summer departure from west
London. A loan move to Everton for
Lukaku almost guarantees goals and that is something the Toffees do need. Both Arouna Kone and Nikica Jelavic don’t
look like producing the scoring tallies required for the club.
Everton are
one of only three clubs unbeaten so far this season, but the trouble is these
results have only come in the shape of three draws and two stale goalless games
along the way. Results will come, and I’m
sure the fans will remain patient in Martinez and the way he tries to get his
methods across. A good cup run and
another top 10 finish has to be seen as an excellent campaign for Everton in
2013-14.
Fellaini will
be a loss, and he did have a cult following at Goodison Park but in Barry,
McCarthy and Lukaku, Everton have done some amazing business once again and
should be in a better position despite the late departure of the Belgian
international.
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