Carlo Ancelotti has inherited a young talented Everton squad; accentuating and adding to it is this summers ONLY mission.
Why? Because the growth of Everton under Carlo Ancelotti has been steady, with bumps in the road and brilliant performances alike. Richarlison has proven that he is an absolute star in the making, sooner rather than later; Dominic Calvert-Lewin has proven his mettle and promise as an Englishman that Gareth Southgate cannot help but notice.
Moise Kean is stashed away, and can continue to become more comfortable in England, as well as in the Premier League. Mason Holgate and Tom Davies are promising young players at the midfield and defensive backline sections of the pitch as well, who have gotten lots of playing time in this disjointed and challenging campaign.
And so, with a purse that can allow for proper spending, Everton must look towards gaining the proper pieces for growth, while discarding those that are only hindering the development of the team in general.
Who to move; who to keep?
I have been writing about potential Everton moves for months, before the Winter window, afterwords, as well as during the seasons forced COVID-19 break. Names like James Rodriguez, Allan, Kalidou Koulibaly, and others are bound to arise with a big name like Carlo Ancelotti as boss, but these acquisitions cannot only be rumors, but realities.
During the Winter window, only one move was made; the signing of teenage defenseman Jarrad Branthwaite will be valuable one day, but it hasn’t been so far. This is to be expected, what wasn’t expected was that no other moves would be made; what gives?
Carlo Ancelotti was promised financial freedom at Everton to the extent they can offer it to him; this surely isn’t all they can muster? Of course not, and saving the winter windows money for this summer seems all the more intelligent given the economic and social circumstances surrounding life moving forward.
Everton can likely get many more players with their saved war chest once the window opens this summer than they would’ve had they spent in the winter alongside an unchanged summer market. Having saved during the first one, they are able to really remake the club if they are ambitious; a name like Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille can still be a start in the back if Chelsea do not seal the signing soon.
Selling names like Gylfi Sigurdsson, Bernard Duarte, Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun can aid in this reboot as well; they are all names that can help other teams but no longer serve their purpose as Toffees,
An Ideal Everton 2020-21 Campaign Starting XI
With the surmised and prognosticated Everton warchest spoken on, what can a good summer have the club looking like next year? Richarlison’s diversity means that until Moise Kean grows into his role up front, Richarlison can play that as well as upon either Wing. ‘
With this said, Everton could do with getting a more promisingly elite winger to accompany whoever attacks up front; midfield help is key, as the service this campaign has been consistent only in its failings to involve the entire team in fluid, creative football.
Another key piece will have to be another centre defender; someone who can take the pressure off of Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate and Michael Keane is crucial moving towards next season. If at least one solid, dependable name can be garnered at each level of the Everton shape this offseason, the next campaign will look and play much better than this one has.
I would love to see a starting eleven of Everton Soares, Moise Kean, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison, Alex Iwobi, Allan/James Rodriguez, Tom Davies/Fabian Delph, Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina/Mason Holgate, Gabriel Magalhaes, Djibril Sidibe and Jordan Pickford. With just a few innovations across the teams depth chart and Everton can be in the discussion for a top six spot in the Premier League moving forward.