Everton land Danjuma on loan at the second attempt

Hope he does well.

Here’s hoping this is our Kev Campbell moment.

Hopefully he delivers and is the start of some good recruitment.

Clever buying and selling, intelligent loans and free transfers.

Taken the Number 10 shirt as well, so he's confident.

Exciting player, he's going to be starting most games I reckon, and he's going to score goals for us.

Danjuma

Young

Onana

Gana Gueye

Garner

McNeil

Add to that Patterson and Mykolenko.

Pity about Maupay but then, as Howard Kendall used to say, if you sign three players, take it on the chin if one doesn't work out, and cut your losses.

A good signing that strengthens our forward line. More so because it leaves financial wriggle room for more strengthening.

Keep them coming! Gnonto, Brobbey, Dembele, and a midfielder would be very satisfying.

Patterson and Mykolenko signed in January 2022; Thelwell joined in February 2022.

Except Onana, which was a rabbit out of the hat and not everyone convinced by him yet, so jury is still out for me on Thelwell.

We are desperate for a forward and he has brought us Maupay. Bringing in players who can supply crosses but no one to be on the end of them is not good business.

Danjuma: failed at Spurs, started one game.

Ashley Young: 38.

Onana: £30+ million for an untried player, has he been a success for us?

Gana Gueye: 34.

Garner: £20 million, untried in the Premier League. Not good enough for Nottm Forest.

McNeil: £20 million. No goals no assists for Burnley.

Maupay: £12 million, possibility the worst signing we have made

Patterson and Mykolenko: two very poor defenders and over-priced.

Oh and still no striker.

Thelwell has done a good job, seriously? Thelwell should have walked with the other three idiots.

Ahh, I feel better now after a good rant… aaand relax.😀

Anyway, of the players that have left, hardly any played regularly so we've effectively increased the playing squad by two so far. An out-and-out striker would really be good as I've no confidence Calvert-Lewin will be fit in 3 weeks time.

We need a couple more signings, especially a target man, and if Calvert-Lewin can come back fully fit, we can look forward to a promising season.

You're one of us now. Go and succeed.

Looking forward to the Cobra celebrations.

Welcome to the family.

Danjuma has end product and I think if he stays fit there's a decent chance he'll get us 8-10 goals. Has similarities to Richarlison (though not so good in the air) and I think this is a very sensible move for a player who will prove popular.

Paul #11 - on cue!

There was not a cat in hells chance of Danjuma being a regular at Spurs, with Kane, Son, Kulushevski and even Richarlison in front of him.

Kick some ass.

Paul @11, that's a bit harsh on Dwight McNeil, he did score some goals at Burnley, but yes none in the season they went down. But not his failings, as the tactics were hoof from defence to Barnes and Wood, the midfield played no part. They would have scored more if McNeil and Josh Brownhill were involved and possibly stayed up at our expense.

I also feel Ashley Young can still offer something, but I do agree that Gana Gueye should not have been re-signed.

And the two major sales -- Richarlison and Gordon -- provided a nine-figure total return with big profits and no regrets. They've scored exactly one goal apiece for their new clubs. Fantastic business for flawed players.

"The tactics were hoof from defence to Barnes and Wood, the midfield played no part. They would have scored more if McNeil and Josh Brownhill were involved and possibly stayed up at our expense."

Dyche was the manager. He's our manager, they were his tactics. I admit McNeil was great last season, but let's see what he does this one. All the other Thelwell signings were in desperation or Moshiri and Kenwright mode.

Danjuma didn't exactly fail, he didn't get in ahead of Kane, Son, Kulusevski, Richarlison and some other Dutch fella I can't think of. He was daft to go there in the first place… but 'fail' I can't agree with.

Ashley Young, an athlete who cost nothing and covers positions... not bad that.

Onana, whether you like him or not, is like finding a big chunky stupid gold watch – you may not want it but you're not leaving it on the floor when you can sell it for a few quid.

Gana Gueye, we all have a different opinion on it seems. Either way, he's a starter and overall has done okay for me.

Garner, I don't think was £20M, but either way Forest did want him (a lot) and most Evertonians believe he will be running our midfield for years.

McNeil, one of the reasons we are not in the Championship

Mykolenko and Patterson; N/A

I will give you Maupay... to be fair, Everton would probably give you Maupay as well… as long as you had a bit of grass and a bail of hay in the corner.

If you really think Onana, Garner and McNeil have not been the type of signings we need (young, hungry and quality), then I really don't know who you expect us to sign.

Gana and Young were both free with bags of experience in the Premier League and look like the fittest in the squad (minus Iwobi), too.

Only issue is Maupay, but that was just a desperation signing, one which hasn't paid off. We just need to find a striker, but who would come here?

The fee for James Garner was £12M, and as you say, Forest were desperate to sign him permanently from Man Utd. He was, so I believe, their stand-out player in the season they won promotion.

Also, Man Utd fans were livid that their club had let a good young player leave so cheaply.

"McNeil £20 million. No goals no assists for Burnley."

But then at #29 you quote Joe who says "They would have scored more if McNell and Josh Brownhill were involved and possibly stayed up at our expense" and you say "Dyche was the manager... they were his tactics".

So a tacit acceptance that McNeil's poor goal record at Burnley was not McNeil's fault.

"Seems like Paul has hooked himself a few here."

I think he's hooked himself! He must learn to cast.

Sean Dyche was part of the decision to go for Maxwell Cornet, not long after he put in a killer performance for Lyon v Man City in the Champions League. I'm not anti-Dyche at all, he sorted us last season being very limited with the sqaud.

How many of us have said sell Obama because he's not good enough? The two full-backs are nowhere near good enough.

Gueye will be nearly 35 by season's end. Young 39. The team is full of not good enoughs. Skin of our teeth again this season if no money comes in.

Thelwell has his hands tied or he's an idiot.

I missed that signing, Paul!

I'd go for that lad from Rangers, Morelos is it? He's a fighter and a handful in the box – just what we've been lacking for a while.

His disciplinary record is a downside, however, especially if he's suspended for critical games, but I'd give him a go. He shouldn't cost too much and has got to be better than anything we've got at the moment.

He thinks the £60M we got for Richarlison was the biggest heist since the Great Train Robbery.

Please give the lad a chance! If Dyche gets points on the table, style of play doesn't matter! I'd take mid-table next May in a heartbeat.

Those with short memories? DVD of last season is available from the club shop. Any progress is progress!

Stu #42, we have two regular Rangers watchers on TW who say absolutely no to Morelos. Nothing to do with his disciplinary record, which has calmed down in the past three seasons... they say he's just not Premier League quality.

I'm sure he'd have been delighted to have signed the modestly priced likes of Amdouni, Okafor, Boniface and Lang, attackers who have all moved in the past few days.

I'm sure he'd be delighted if we could keep pace with the likes of Bournemouth, following up their January acquisition of Outtara, Semenyo and Zabarnyi with the talented trio of Kluivert, Kerkez and Faivre. Unfortunately, only Luton and Sheffield Utd are operating with comparable financial constraints.

So securing Danjuma at low cost is a good bit of business and gives us very versatile cover for Calvert-Lewin as well as a goal threat from deep / wide positions.

Hopefully more is on the way, but we may need to get the likes of Gbamin, Gomes, Alli and Holgate off our books (sale or loan) to free up a bit more cash.

But I suppose the important thing this season is to sail safely above the relegation zone, and hopefully Arnaut will provide a good number of goals and assists to help us with that objective.

The squad is strengthening slowly but surely, and if Calvert-Lewin and Dele Alli can get their mojo back, this could be a very interesting season

Calvert-Lewin
McNeil Iwobi Danjuma
Onana Garner
Young Branthwaite Tarkowski Patterson
Pickford

That would not be the worst starting XI in the Premier League. If only we can start getting in some good back-ups, especially up top...

In recent seasons, I have become more pessimistic about loanees and players who move around a lot – of which, Everton have had more than their fair share of failures.

Where does that leave that likes of Dele Alli and Gbamin etc.

He is no better than Demarai Gray so maybe we should cash in on him now that we have Danjuma.

Welcome, Arnaut, score some goals, make some assists and work hard and the fans will take to you.

The likes of Young can remember what Everton can be like when it is well run with more stability than it is today, where young hungry players only see turmoil, that changes managers as often as they change shirts.

It is not that Everton are not trying for players; it is that players prefer more stability in the clubs they choose. That is why I take no notice of these names from journalists that just look for names to fill their columns.

We not only need a striker, we need someone who can provide them with chances. We do have a couple of players in Onana and Garner who could do this; it remains to be seen if Dyche uses them both in the starting XI.

Harvey Barnes is decent in my view. Plays with aggression, is fast, scores, creates and works hard. Still young, with his best years ahead of him. It'll push Gordon further down the order.

Very very skewed and biased analysis there: sorry pal

McNeil was a success overall last season and will only get better. 6-7 goals + assists was a decent return who will get better.

Garner was £9-11M and most smart Evertonians agree he was a tremendous acquisition with a high ceiling.

Onana wasn't brilliant for us but also wasn't bad and we'd make some kind of profit on him if we sold him.

Patterson looks a player and again has a high ceiling.

I'm not saying Thelwell is amazing but your lack of objectivity needs to be called out.

Yes, that bloody predictive stuff, Paul!

He was supposed to have gone abroad for intensive treatment in order to be fit for the new season. It would appear that he is still struggling to regain his fitness levels.

Can we spend another season with him playing a bit part roll?
It's hard to get a quality striker at the best of times, but to get a quality striker to join us doesn't look good.

No one would buy Calvert-Lewin with his injury record, so we really do need a competent striker, and trust the rest of the current squad to keep us afloat!

I will reserve my judgement until I see the new-comers in action, and if they aren't good enough, it's my opinion, that it's not their fault.

By far the funniest, cleverest, wittiest one liner.

I've got Spurs supporting mates who make the same lazy comparison. I can only assume they've never watched Maupay...

Besides, how many league starts did Richarlison get? How many minutes did he play? How many sitters did he miss?

I really hate criticising any one player too much given the many reasons for our mediocrity, but Maupay is bafflingly shite. Would one going in off his arse boost his confidence and get him on a roll? Can't see it.

Onana, does anyone know just exactly what he is supposed to be doing on the pitch?

Garner played a hand full of games, brilliant, outstanding? No.

Patterson is a very poor defender and not very good going forward.

We have possibly the two most average fullbacks in the Premier League, add Godfrey, Keane, Alli, Gomes, Maupay, Holgate and Gray.

And people on here are saying we have a good squad, yes, okay, let's see, shall we.

Paul, I don't know what to say really, you seem to get more negative with each post. I hope the blues can cheer you up a bit this season.

FYI, Paul, you are way off in your costings, we paid a lot less than you quote for McNeil and Garner especially. Thelwell seems to be moving things in the right direction with Sean Dyche. I think Garner will kick on this season actually.

I am delighted with this business, now just for a striker and another winger, ship out Gray and Holgate. Bilal Touré and Harrison would make me very happy.

Ajay, I like the look of that side! Anyway, welcome Danjuma, I hope you get bitten by the Everton bug and play your socks off for us.

That suggests something like a 13th to 15th place finish based on quality. Obviously things can change over the rest of the window but that's where are right now.

Obviously Dyche can also over-perform with the tools available – as he did last season, when arguably we had the weakest squad in the Premier League (even worse than Saints).

But Danjuma is certainly a step in the right direction.

The jury is well and truly still out on Thelwell...

We need a creative player in the middle of the park that scores goals too (our new talisman) and at least two new Strikers!

I'm just pointing out what you already know, that we clearly got maximum return for a player who gave Spurs zero return last season. With Son having a miserable first half, Richaelison got his chances. 12 starts, never scored. He played 1,000 league minutes to bag one goal and four assists.

He'll do better, no doubt, but that was still a splendid transaction for us.

I would love that signing too. Let's hope. Sheff Utd apparently interested in Maupay, so what you waiting for, Dyche!

I hope he looks as good when he comes off YouTube and plays for Everton.

Garner was an absolute steal at around £12M and can play in midfield or full-back.
.
He can tackle, is comfortable on the ball and can see and make a pass. What's not too like?

I wonder if you ever actually go to or watch a game!

Onana – 21!!! Just played nearly every match of his first season in the Premier League. He's an upgrade on Davies, Gbamin or Gomes.

Garner – 22. Impressed most people in an injury-hit first season. Just won the Euros with England U21 side. He's better than Gomes, Gbamin or Davies.

McNeil – 23. Arguably our most effective attacking player in his first season with us, after a tough start under Lampard.

These 3 are how we need to operate going forward in transfer business.

Tarkowski & Gana have been brought in for their experience and have played nearly every match too, and improved our first team from the season before.

Thelwell has slowly removed some deadwood, high-earning non-contributors like Mina, Gbamin and Gomes getting swerved. Maupay is a failure, we can all see that. What manager or DoF gets every signing perfect??

Thelwell would probably love to revolutionise the sqaud all in one go but, as the Germans once proclaimed, "It's evolution, not revolution, that we need."

Incremental steps each window making improvements, signings that will improve with time. Sustainable growth that doesn't jeopardise us financially.

Other posters have pointed out the reasonable job Thelwell has done. I must agree on reflection that they are right. Maupay could still do a job if the players around him are improving. I'm sure he is being worked on.

More players who can score goals please!

Jiminez is not the same player since his head injury. Looks to me like his bottle has gone.

It's positive – let's be positive about him. He will have to win over some but let's not crucify the lad before he's had a chance to prove himself.

Never taken much notice of him since he returned, plus he seemed to spend a lot of time on the bench, but was he heading any balls at all?

Obviously no good for us with the amount of crosses that McNeil puts in.

Your comments on Garner, Patterson and Onana are just, well, like most of the stuff you put on here.

By the way, who are all the posters saying we have a good squad? Who is praising Keane, Gomes, Alli, Maupay, Holgate, Gray? Do you actually believe that you have found flaws in players the rest of us admire?

In my opinion, definitely a steal for £5.5M.

It is even too early to judge what might be empirically characterized as wrong opinions because that would be overly judgemental. Cue the caterpillar with the hash pipe… or was that Humpty Dumpty?

Questioning praise being heaped on a Director of Football whose success, demonstrable on the pitch, amounts so far to transforming a team that escaped relegation with one game to spare, into one that escaped relegation in the final 45 minutes, doesn't seem that unreasonable to me.

We went into yesterday's game with almost non-existent creativity in midfield, Michael Keane still giving the ball away in central defence, and Neil Maupay ballooning it over the bar further than Clark Kent after a few fifties kids told him to stay behind and wash the fucking kit.

There's certainly a case to be made that the money spent on Onana, Garner and McNeil could have been far better utilised in finding the striker we've desperately needed for three transfer windows now.

Onana in particular offers very little of substance, other than a sliding tackle now and again and a Heitinga-style attempt to stoke up the crowd.
McNeil came good in the second half of the season, but stunk the place out prior to that and he's clearly a confidence player so his form could quite easily fluctuate from here on out.

Garner looks a good prospect but, due to injuries, all we've had is a brief glimpse to date.

Thelwell can't be blamed for Mykolenko though, as the middling left-back was through the door over a month before the painted egg-faced composer of a more pointy than Phil Neville plan… but can he really be praised for “culling the deadwood” when Kenny, Delph, Mina, Davies, Townsend, Begovic, Gbamin etc all simply left upon expiration of their contracts?

We know Kenny and Davies were both offered new deals by Thelwell but opted to reject them. True, Richarlison and Gordon brought in decent money, but neither would be considered anywhere near ‘deadwood', rather two of our better players.

Thelwell allowed us to start last season without a recognised striker ready to play, before plonking down £15M on Peter Dinklage and then failing to address the alarming shortage of goals yet again in January, even though relegation could so easily have been the result of such failure.

Of the successful captures this window, Ashley Young was apparently signed after his agent approached the club to offer his services, and Danjuma was a player Lampard had convinced to join back in January before his sacking sunk the deal. So, I can see why some might think that, so far, Kev has done not much more this summer than worsen an already throbbingly sore case of pins and needles caused by a world record attempt at sitting on his hands.

That those hands may be penniless is the only defence Thelwell can possibly point to (once he's got feeling back in the fuckers, that is). Yet, the fact remains he's paid a stack to find solutions and, as it stands, there's still not one area (with the exception of goalkeeper) in which we don't look worryingly short or shaky.

But it is still Kenwright's doing. Since he hoodwinked himself onto the board, way back in 1989, we have never looked like being pedigree. He has slowly choked our lifeblood.

Factor in the complete buffoon (Moshiri) that he sold out to, and between them we have been driven into the ground.

We have to be realists here. After decades of Kenwright's dreadful tenure, the worst Owner/Chairman in the clubs history we are still at his mercy.

His modus operandi of scrambling around for the players others don't want at the last second has rarely changed. Nor will it.

In 1989, had a fortune teller told you that, in 2023, we were a complete shambles with little to no direction, you would have declared Madame Zelda insane and a crook.

With all this opposing conjecture I can definitely make the case that without the financial burden of the Blob and ‘M' we would have signed Kudus. That is only as speculative as opposing arguments. And it would have ended this argument.

In reality I always thought it was a bit of both, but the boundaries between the two are blurred making responsibility and subsequently accountability difficult. Of course we all like to think the managers tells the DoF to get certain players, but it feels like a make-do-and-see strategy rather than a plan, so what am I missing here?

As always, let's judge him in an Everton shirt.

I don't remember anyone talking about Tim Cahill in a Millwall shirt.

McNeil at Burnley? I don't even remember him.

Watch the highlights from Brighton away last season. He was responsible for 4 of the 5 goals. Scored two, got an assist and effectively created the other as his low cross that was setting up a tap-in that came off the keeper.

My favourite is the one when he put the defender and keeper on their arses and confidently walked it into the net. It was down the other end but I saw every second.

Once he settled, he was one our best performers last season. Full of energy and drive. Has a great delivery on him and has goals in him (7 to date).

Back to the point. Judge a player in an Everton shirt.

Thelwell has come into a crippled club, having to sell our best players to balance the books.

With limited funds, he's signed a number of players who would all fetch more money if they were sold now (Maupay excluded) whilst bringing down the average age of the squad.

He's made shrewd cheap signings to paper over cracks which have largely been successful – Gueye as a prime example.

We've got no money, what do you expect from a DoF?

Who wanted Dyche, even before Benitez or Lampard? Our escape last season was worse than the previous one.

Our last three managers were all sacked from their previous clubs. We are bringing in players who are not good enough for other clubs.

The squad is not strong enough to survive another relegation battle, yet people on here are deluding themselves and criticizing others for not shouting hooray for Kenwright and Thelwell.

Send your criticizing comments to the pair of twats that are or have ruined our club.

Fucking wake up!!!

Even better for me has been the business of who's gone out over last year (Tosun, Delph, Rondon, Davies) and a little profit come in for youth players in Samuels-Smith, Simms, Price and Nkounkou that hadn't quite made it yet (obviously they could have – but £12M so far is a return).

Nothing except whinge on here.
If you had the odd £1bn, then you could.
But I suspect you probably don't even have a pot.

So we just have to put up with your bile and vitriol.

100% of genuine people on here want Everton to do well. The divide is simply about where we are and what’s realistic.

I’d love us to go all in on youth with a 5 year plan, but I get that others see short term fixes that get us to BMD and with a 3 year P&S slate wipe being a catalyst for real new investment.

Don’t think either camp accepts or will continue to accept “B&K” are an answer to anything.

Personally I thought a 38 year old Young is a massive statement of none-intent - but for those just wanting to get through next year I get it. He covers both fullbacks and both wings.

Danjuma is flexible too. Whilst we really need a “DCL clone” up top, Danjuma will give us a better option than Gray / Maupay there and hopefully buys a few more weeks to find the right player for right money. He also gives an option on the right too.

Whether Dyche is the right man, I don’t believe he is. I don’t like the short term policy we got, and think next summer we could be decimated by contracts expiring.

However I DO get the counter argument that we just gotta survive for 1-2 more years too. Certainly won’t be throwing a two press tantrum at those who champion that view.

And as for the serious discussion, I’m not claiming job done. I believe Thelwell will get a couple more though and those terms might make for a tense discussion. My early expectation is that he has one in hand and is shopping intensely for another.

And oh fucking yeah, shouldn’t the question be who wants Dyche now? I’m in.

Paul, I kind of get where you're coming from, but no need to be so directive.

All of us want Everton to compete and do well.

We've had 36 years without a league title or even being in a position to compete for one.

I'd love an FA Cup and the League Cup (personal one). But competing in the league is where I, and everyone else, wants Everton to be.

We all know where the problems lie and we are all in violent agreement, just have different ways of expressing it.

As I keep saying, I differentiate how I feel about the team and how the club is run. When I stand in Goodison and the stadiums around the country, for those 90 minutes (sometimes an agonising 99 these days), I only care about the players on the pitch.

Then, in between matches, I can turn my focus elsewhere.

Those travelling to Stoke, see you there.

Everton is nothing without Evertonians. We are all Evertonians. Every single one of us.

In fairness to Thelwell I think he has the hardest job of any of the previous DOF as I think he's trying to marry getting the right signings for the long term growth of Everton as well as making sure we have a squad capable of staying in the division.

The problem he has with regards to the striker is that it is difficult to find the funds and also entice that player to come considering he will most probably be playing second fiddle to Dominic when fit. If reports are accurate we were close with both Dembele and Danjuma in the last transfer window and had we pulled them off I doubt we would have been scrapping until the last game of the season for our survival. Likewise I think the powers that be would have hoped for a lot more output from Calvert Lewin which would have meant the necessity for another striker would be less critical.

Last summer the midfield engine room was a key area which needed addressing and personally I have liked the signings of Garner, Gana and Onana in particular. Gana was no doubt bought for the present but I believe Onana and Garner were bought for the next decade or so and the type of signings we didn't see enough of under previous regimes.

Part of the problem I believe in trying to assess Thelwell's captures now is that they weren't primarily bought for last season. Instead of Onana we could have wasted roughly the same outlay on an Alan as we did in the past (including fee and wages) which essentially would have been dead money and didn't progress the club going forward. Midfield was a real problem area before his arrival and last season for me it was our most functional unit.

Where no doubt Thelwell has so far failed is addressing the lack of goals in the side and this summer there will be a big onus on achieving this. The signings of Young and Danjuma are in my opinion are a great start on addressing this with minimal outlay.

Another factor which must be considered in the squad being stronger than previously is the fact that there is no doubt Thelwell wouldn't have wanted to lose two crucial players like Richarlison and Gordon and didn't have the funds or ability to replace with like for like quality, thereby his success or failure cannot be judged instantaneously. Arsenal have just had the luxury of replacing Xhaka with a £105 million pound player and while there is no doubt that he will be an absolute star for them it will still be tough for him to surpass the season the Swiss has just had in his first season with the club. Everton don't have that luxury.

From my perspective I am still on the fence with both Thelwell and Dyche going forward but in the short term I am quite optimistic with both as I think Sean will know and demand signings like Young which will be crucial in avoiding another season of struggle allowing Thelwell to have one eye on potential signings like Gnonto and Bil Hilal who can play their part this season but will be at the forefront of the squad over the coming seasons. In a season or two Thelwells judgement will be easier to assess.

The jury is out but Thelwell does need a bit of latitude in my opinion given the size of his task he inherited and the constraints he is working under.

Plenty of potential but he's also another one that would miss a big chuckle after Christmas because of AFCON. That would potentially be four missing

Now for my side, in smartass mode I am just having a bit of fun with it although I’ll stay on topic. I do this in lieu of oh so painful to read raging prose. Not saying this is better only that it is better for my long run prospects. If you are offended or if what I say is too callous let me know and we can probably land that plane together.

You do see how it was going kind of over the top a bit there don’t you?

Link

Paul, I don't doubt that you are as true a blue as the rest of us. It's just that I can't think of any names that your description would apply to. I can't think of a single poster who is "happy with our lot". I can think of many (most, myself included) who have a beef about this or that - but hardly anybody who feels the need to express negative feelings so many times on so many disparate threads. But that's your right, so hey ho.

The glass is half full, Paul! Drink from it and savour the positives. The glass will still be half full even when you've sipped from it!

Bill #109
I agree. I think Patterson shows lots of potential. Before the injury last season, he was showing what a difference a good run in the side can make to a young player.

Including those younger supporters who turn up all over the country who have to listen to the likes of you and I.

They are there and as committed as me despite never having seen us win a trophy. I am proud to stand amongst them and respect them. They've had nothing but keep going.

Back to Danjuma. Is it me, but born in Nigeria, mostly raised in the Netherlands. He speaks a more perfected version of English than me!

Playing catch up.

I will get back to you.

Work, dogs, Everton, garden and even managing to get locked out.

That was interesting with the locksmith trying to get in with two curious Rhodesian Ridgebacks!

On the same subject, just a word for our captain. Patterson said Seamus is always telling him how good a players he is, non stop encouragement and nurturing confidence. Lampard got one thing right, Seamus is a class act.

He turns 22 next month and has started 40 top-level games in his life. So yeah, he's raw and undeveloped. Gets confused and out of position sometimes.

But... he was second on the club in tackles. His effort is constant, his passion evident. He has a great first touch, passes accurately (forward!) and moves the ball along through midfield better than anyone else we have except maybe Iwobi. He's already safer on the ball than Doucoure or Gana will ever be.

And when he makes mistakes, he uses his speed to recover. He didn't make a single error leading to a goal last season. (The veteran Gana made three, Doucoure 2.) And he makes no stupid fouls around the edge of the area leading to dangerous free kicks (a la Gomes and Davies).

Yep, he's got a long way to go, but I see him as a future pillar for the club to build around, and I hope like hell we don't sell him.

He's done well at Villareal, and is obviously demanding more money after that continuol rise. I assume Villareal have said no, and he's been punted around for a market value gain.

He's 27 in January, so he's looking for his big contract I guess.

I think he did make one error leading to the second goal at Villa Park on his debut as a late substitute last August. As I recall he was robbed of possession in midfield with Villa breaking away to score at the Holte End.

He made amends a few minutes with a dribble and low cross which Digne put into his own net. In that instance he showed what he is capable of when he gets the bit between his teeth and attacks opponents. I would like to see him do that more often.

At times last season he seemed to be playing within himself. It’s possible that was because he was carrying an injury or playing to instructions. I hope this coming season we see him grab games by the scruff of the neck and be the dominant force we badly need in midfield.

“ He (Onana) didn't make a single error leading to a goal last season. (The veteran Gana made three, Doucoure 2.) ”

I must have imagined him losing possession in midfield at Villa Park, falling on his arse and the ball in our net about seven seconds later. That’s the danger with these bullshit stats - they are only as good as the ropey criteria used to measure them.

He was three minutes into his Prem debut and on his second touch got the ball tipped away in the center circle. That's NOT an "error leading to a goal" no matter how ropey the criteria.

Have a look at one of the four mind-bending blunders Gana made, three of which immediately turned into goals that cost us points. Look at Arsenal, Brighton, ManUtd to see what real "errors" look like. Gana led the league in them (among non-keepers).

Onana never did anything even resembling those muckups.

I never mentioned Gana or anyone else. You claimed Onana never made a mistake which led to a goal. He did, regardless of debut or not.

Come on Toure, you know this is the proper market to showcase your considerable skills maaaaan.

Zaha gone to turkey hopefully that hurries gray along to palace so we can finish the gnoto deal.

Reports last night we are now going all out for toure from Almeria as the new striker to push DCL but we face competition from Atalanta who have a great reputation for developing young talent especially strikers.. going to be a big week I reckon.

UTFT.

Conor McCourt@103

Grateful to have your comments representing my view!

We desperately need a song for the "Gana, Garner, Onana" trio if Dyche ever considers start playing them together in the centre of the park!!!

Mike Gaynes@122

I'm with you on Onana.

Adding to your views, Onana has been a captain for Belgium at U17, U18, U19 & U21: nothing's better than practice makes perfect! Even if he might not be wearing a Captain's Armband in the future, he will be a key part of the Dressing Room.

I dubbed him as our "Franchise Player" and was ridiculed a lot by fellow Evertonians, but I'm keeping up my view nonetheless!

Quick tangent:

Now that we have secured Danjuma, fingers crossed that Thelwell can step on the gas pedal to start fielding more offers for Gray. I'd be delighted if we can get £25 Million for him.

I don’t really want to judge anybody currently (including Maupay) without a proper centre forward. It’s like trying to judge our defence without centre backs playing. The centre forward (unless you’re an unbelievably good team which we clearly aren’t) is pivotal to all attacking play.

I’m not for or against Thelwell but he needs to sign a proper decent forward - nobody has managed to this since we had a director of football. It’s scandalous. Last proper forward we signed was when we had Martinez (who also managed to sign young winger with great potential).

NB So people don’t think I’ve lost my mind, I would be surprised if Maupay turns out to be even average, he looks totally shit but I’d still prefer to judge with a proper forward playing with him.

An "option to buy" would include a clause with a sum of money to be exchanged if the option is exercised. But there's 'no obligation' to exercise the option.

So a contract without such a clause would mean there is no 'option to buy' to exercise and therefore also no obligation.

But it doesn't mean we can't still buy him.

Anyway, I listened to the lad being interviewed and I like his enthusiasm, his energy and, although it's expected responses to the questions, he genuinely seemed pleased and raring to go. Great enthusiasm and I hope to see that as part of his contribution to our squad. Ashley Young, already, has given us a first team player,and a good player. in several positions. I've only seen his speed, his goals, assists and dribbling; what's on youtube but it looks like we could have a good'un here!

Maybe now we're looking a bit more like we're getting the beginnings of a squad together. Welcome to Everton, lad!

Spurs didn't work out for him and he just chose us over AC Milan. Lad scored 7 in 14 in the Champions League and was crucial in getting Villarreal to a Champions League semi-final.

Costs us a mere loan fee and, even if he does well, his value will drop because he has 1 year less on his contract if he wants to stay. Good business.

First of hopefully a few attacking additions. If we can get Toure over the line, that’s three additions before pre-season ends which is positive.

We don't have a lot of luck with Dutch players though (apart from Heitinga having one decent season).

He's done a frankly amazing job on that point. The amount of players we had on over £100k-per-week salaries when he arrived vs now is huge. Yes some had contracts expire but his job is to not offer Mina a new one – even if he did have a few good games last season.

Not getting a striker last season was the black mark against him, but I genuinely think he's done well working within the conditions set out. Everything he is doing has to be massively structured in favour of us, the buying club. So we will loose players to other buying clubs that aren't in such a P&S hole and can offer more favourable terms.

Also, Paul, if you can't see that Garner is an absolute steal, then you might as well give up.

Onana could turn into a real top player once he realizes he's got to get more involved; otherwise, he will just remain on the periphery, doing some good things but nowhere near enough, imo.

He is on loan, to me it makes no sense in selling Gray unless we have a replacement. Our squad is so bereft of quality we need to keep hold of every attacker besides Maupay who is terrible.

Why do Villarreal want shut of him? Why chose us over Milan?

Just those 2 comments above are concerning.

If you are going to introduce a DoF system, then employ it. Don't play at it. Do it or don't have it if you want the traditional British manager model.

With a DoF, you need less board room interference and let him / her get on with it. The manager becomes a head coach who just focuses on what goes on on the pitch.

Yes, they influence what they want, but it takes them away from the business side of things.

It depends on what model we want.

But don't do it half baked. All in or not at all.

He may have asked to leave. If he has, then fair enough, let him go.

There is an interesting article from Villarreal from last January when we first tried to sign him.

Danjuma hasn't hit the heights he was expected to, despite some impressive scoring form in the Championship League last season.

The winger hasn't been particularly consistent and is struggling to get into Setiens starting XI, with Pino and Chuckwueze preferred.

They have since signed Ben Brereton Diaz. I believe that is another player we were supposed to be interested in.

He wouldn't have just put Calvert-Lewin on his toes — he would have put him on the bench.

The players who have left, Richarlison & Gordon apart, were not contributing. I don't think these departures actually weaken the first team as they have offered very little over a season.

Imo, Thelwell has made some good decisions lately:

Letting Mina go.

Letting Coady go.

Letting Townsend go.

Kenny, Rondon, Delph, Tosun and more.

Getting fees for Simms and Nkounkou.

Sorting out the playing squad we had was never going to be quick or easy. He's getting some order to a squad that was just ridiculously bloated with over-paid under-achievers.

Maupay aside, I'd say the majority of his signings have been positive. Onana, Garner and McNeil would probably pull a profit if sold tomorrow.

All this while struggling with P&S issues hanging over him. If he can pull a decent striker and winger out this window, I'd be looking up the table rather than down.

After he lost the ball, the entire defense was behind the ball and Tom Davies had an opportunity to not only stop the attack but then didn't follow Buendia when he passed the ball and made the run to score.

But even if you somehow count that as a knock against Onana, he not only created a goal a couple minutes later but almost scored the equalizer a few minutes after that. That alone showed what he's made of, not hanging his head. Plus how can you not love his energy and commitment to the badge? The guy certainly has a lot to learn, but he's going to be a top player and I'd be gutted if we lost him.

With Onana and Garner anchoring the midfield, if we get a winger and forward in this window, our priority in the summer will be replacing Gana. At that point, we'll have a pretty damn solid midfield for a few years if somehow we can hold on to Garner and Onana.

I think just about everyone agrees that selling Gray is good business as long as we can replace him with someone younger and better end product. I think £10-15 million is a more realistic number for Gray, but either way, we'd better replace him unless one of the academy players can truly step up if Danjuma or McNeill gets injured.

Iwobi works hard, but we all know he's better centrally because he can't cross a ball for the life of him — and I'm an Iwobi defender, just that he belongs as a Number 10.

As plenty of others have noted, if Thelwell brings in 2 young players out wide and up top, it's hard to argue he isn't doing a great job.

I agree with those who note that Maupay has never been in a position to succeed, and the bigger issue is that we paid £15 million instead of £8-10 million, but we had to take a chance at the time so we overpaid.

So it goes, mistakes happen. Unload Maupay and replace him, send Cannon out on loan, and we're in good shape for a mid-table finish this season.

Yeah, I know those aren't great figures, but often the margins in top level sport are pretty fine. Even if Danjuma only hits six goals, that's a big improvement over Maupay's one.

He was also carrying an injury, and probably shouldn't have played as many games as he did. Could be massive for us this season.

Totally agree with all
Points.

If we'd just signed a young, tall, left-footed centre-back from PSV, we'd all be ecstatic, so I just hope that Dyche is going to put him in this season and that we hold onto him.

Outs please - Maupay, Holgate, Godfrey, Keane. Probably more that slip my mind cos they are essentially pointless. Ins please - striker beast, CB beast x2, LB beast, RW beast, all from FC who the eff knows where for nout and on peanuts for wages.

Can see old Young will be like the bellhop in an old hotel farce who doubles up as manager, maitre'd, maintenance man, waiter, cook and bottle washer. And he'll still look more composed and fit than most of the current squad. Still looking forward to us defying the odds and coming together as a unit this season though. UTFT

It feels we are headed very much back in the direction of how we were under Kenwright/Moyes. Well organised, with the occasional sprinkle of flair. This is why Dyche puts a lot of faith in McNeil and Doucoure, they are not afraid to put the effort in when we don't have the ball. I'm hoping to see the Dyche effect with Godfrey, Keane, Maupay and Onana next.

Personally, I do find your constant criticism of the club tiring. On one hand, you rightly criticise the club for being in a financial mess. Then we let players go who were draining the wage bill, and you criticise that also.

It seems the club are finally getting things right, and rebuilding from the bottom up?

Yes, I know, in the Championship, but that's still not bad.

Ponces..seriously?

I like the lad, always tries, never hides or afraid to take the ball but also alot of our attacks breakdown with him running down a blind alley or trying one trick too many or putting in a bad ball.

If we could get a replacement, younger with developing talent I'd wish him well on his way out.

Gray & Holgate could potentially get us 20-25m not a bad striker that !!

Michael, while I have your attention, what happened to ToffeeWeb’s sense of humour – it could be relied on in good times and not so good times? Parts of today’s TW community come across as misanthropic and cynical as well as rude and occasionally vulgar when addressing each other. It may be a generational thing, but the lack of respect is shameful and takes away from meaningful debate of all things Everton.

I also recommend that Pepe the Frog: Feels Good Man a Storyville production, that is probably available on BBC Iplayer in the UK at least, to see how the internet has altered discourse in all sorts of ways, and that sometimes everything is taken as a personal insult when it is nothing more than a counter argument, or a light rebuke of somebody 'shouting their views' or 'constantly reminding everybody about how bad things seem to be' which in many cases is irritating in itself and serves little purpose.

Oh I'm sorry. Is that inappropriate?

I think it might be, but that's for the TW family to decide. I'd never even heard of the character prior to watching the TV program and there were bits of it where I thought it was a parody show, but real life is stranger than fiction at times.

And in case there is some preceding character in a harmless English tale that happened to be highjacked for some retrograde cultural move in the States, I apologize to the TW family for amping up there.

Yeah, I realised that watching the show, but it has started a new life in Hong Kong as an icon for peace, and the guy who originally drew the character is trying to take back control of his Frog, which was hi-jacked by what you Americans label the Alt-Right.

The Frog wasn't my issue and I really shouldn't have mentioned him as he was bound to attract attention from the American posters, but it was the program as a whole that gave insights as to why the internet has forever changed the way people discuss topics and how they react to criticism.

Danjuma coming in I think this is good business and I have a gut feeling he will be a success at Everton.

UTFTs!

I agree with your comments re Paul K 100%.
I only post occasionally, but that’s my choice, and I respect the views and comments of 99% of posts, and can agree to disagree with those opinions that are contrary to mine.
I missed Paul K 170 post, so cannot comment on the content.
However, there are numerous posts on this thread alone by Paul K which are contradictory in themselves to say the least.
I now scroll through his posts, as imo they are of little/no value.

The compensation package for failed ex-directors was not taken in the financial interests of the Club. It appears that Kenwright was up to his neck in this decision.