Cannon nearing Everton exit

It would be good for all parties as long as there is a substantial sell on clause.
He gets first team football, we get some cash in the kitty.
I think it is important that we don't hold on too long to players who are not ready for the Premier League yet. We have made that mistake in the past and it benefits nobody.

I'm actually driving to Norwich this afternoon - if they like, I can take Maupay along with me and drop him off as well.

Last night Chermiti getting a game ahead of Cannon must really be a kick in the balls for the lad.

He needs to move on either on loan or permanent to play more football. He won't learn anything on the bench for us.

From a financial perspective this would be a great deal, he came up from the youth so the full £7m would count as profit.

From a squad perspective, given the Beto and Chermiti signings (albeit latter definitely not ready for regular action), do we need Cannon? Assuming (big assumption I know) DCL is fit for even half a season and Beto can play for most, I can't see Cannon getting much playing time so a sale may be best for all - as noted above a sell on % could be good.

£7m plus cash from Iwobi and Gray potential sales should allow us to strengthen more you'd think. After yesterday's game FB and CM seem to be the next urgent areas. Wages aside you'd think some of the top clubs would have FBs they could loan out. RB would be more urgent than LB imo as we have a fit Young for now. But

I had high hopes for Patterson but he's struggling to live up to expectations - admittedly he's still young, only 21, and having Dobbin ahead of him last night didn't help, the two in tandem were awful, not surprised they were both hooked at HT. Issue is if we sign a RB then Pattersons development will stall.

Myko on the other hand is more of a concern. Already 24 and played most games last season, it doesn't seem like he's progressing. Seems to be very average defending and doesn't offer much going forward. At the moment doesn't look like a premier league FB. We have Young this season but longer term neither would seem to be the answer at LB.

Given neither Coleman nor Young will (presumably) be in the squad next season, we may as well get a proper LB or RB for the longer term now or in Jan.

Rob, there are some rumours that Cannon pulled out of the squad last night because he wants to force a move away.

I think Chermiti is a better propsect long term for a CF under Dyche.

If we could get a £8-9m fee for Cannon plus 25% of any profit I think that would be a decent sale. Maybe a £18m buy back clause for if he really takes off.

£7M for Cannon, £13M profit (in accounts) for Iwobi and £12M profit for Gray, allows us to put some good down payments on a couple of replacements.

We've already got McNeil and Harrison to come in so I'd hope we can prioritise a creative central midfielder and a centre-back.

Sam 5, I don't blame the lad, he got a taste of first team action last year and wants more of it. The club will always give bought players more of a chance to prove themselves. Being 5th choice is no good for his development.

Dan 6. Do you not think we need fullbacks rather than centre backs or centre mids?

Walker Peters would do me, can play both sides.

I agree that full-backs are badly needed, but it looks like we're mainly targeting other areas. Last night, our back 4 consisted entirely of players who are currently rubbish. Some may improve, but overall our squad of defenders is a big worry.

As for replacing Iwobi, assuming he goes, maybe the idea is to move Garner centrally once McNeil and Harrison are fit?

Walker-Peters has faded in form a bit but he could be a desirable deal and would likely respond in performance.

Perhaps I am being really thick, but I hear this morning that Chelsea are paying Man City £40m+ for Cole Palmer, who last season started only 2 PL games and scored 1 goal in a total of 850 mins on the pitch in all competitions.

We have just paid £13m for Youssef Chermiti, who in 16 games in Portugal's Primera Liga scored 3 goals in 971 mins and completed 90 mins 5 times, 2 of his goals coming against, those giants of European football, Rio Ave and Pacos!

Yet Tom Cannon, who played in 20 Championship games last season, scoring 8 times in 1,678 mins on the pitch, is only worth £7m. If you look at Tom's stats, his 8 goals came in the last 12 games of the season when he played a full 90 mins in each one.

Now as I said at the outset, I may be thick, but does that not seem to indicate that if you give the lad a run he will repay you. Anthony Gordon had a dreadful time in the Championship but given a run in the PL turns into a £40m player 2 seasons later.

This is a very short sighted move and the signing of Chermiti (who on first viewing looks average a best) is a complete waste of limited resources.

I like Cannon. His record at the end of last season on loan was excellent.

I've been surprised to see Dobbin ahead of him in the pecking order. If we're not desperate for the cash, I'd keep hold of him. At the very least, I'd insist on a sell-on clause.

We will see if you're being thick in the future, Stephen.

There is so much snobbery associated with so many people in high places within the footballing industry and this makes me believe that you might not be as thick as you think you are, mate!

When I was watching the Everton - Villa game, Tom Cannon’s face was an absolute picture and I think anyone who has played football, to a half decent level, would have been able to guess what was going through the kids brain.

I’ve sat there a few times in my younger days with exactly the same face, so my guess would be that Tom was probably thinking, these are shite and this c**t still won’t give me a go, so I’ve got to get away from here, before I go mad!

Dobbin isn't ahead of Cannon in the pecking order as such, it's more that he plays in a different position. That's why he's getting more minutes. I suspect he'll fall down the queue behind Danjuma, McNeil and Harrison once everyone is fit. He's done quite well though - I'm a bit torn whether he's best served with another loan or a few first team minutes here and there.

As to Cannon's reported price / credentials, he's definitely not in the same league as Cole Palmer. Palmer (a versatile attacking midfielder) is a class act, hence Chelsea are interested for big money. I'm surprised City are considering letting him go. Extremely talented player.

Cannon's goal stats for Preston were excellent. Does that mean if you give a youngster a break in the Premier League he will repay you? Definitely not. Loads of academy players get a break at different clubs and don't make it for all sorts of reasons (usually lack of ability or effort or both).

Is Cannon better than Chermiti? Hard to say. Chermiti appears to be the more talented footballer but there's obviously more to it than that.

What I would say though is that we haven't paid £13m for Chermiti. The total fee is Euro 12.5m which converts to about £10.7m. As of now we've only paid about £2.5m of that fee with the rest being paid on the drip.

So if we get £7m for Cannon with a decent up front payment and a sell on clause, that seems like good business.

Tony 13
I said the same thing after the Villa game, I think Cannon was thinking you play Dobbin before me he scored 2 in the Championship for Derby, while I scored 8 for Preston in the same league and Maupay has scored once since he joined the club. Why has he not been given a chance even in the friendlies he hardly gave him any game time. I bet he cant wait to get away, and who could blame him.

I was reading some stats today about Sean Dyche since he came we have taken 21 points from 21 games pretty similar to Lampard's atrocious points total. We have scored 19 goals and conceded 35 again similar to Lampard. Also during his 7 years at Burnley his team averaged 36.9 goals per season. Also during seasons 2017 to 2021 he played Ashley Barnes and Chris Woods as his striking pair in a 4-4-2 formation they scored 76 goals between them that was 48% of Burnley's goals in that period. Yet strangely he has never started with 2 out and out strikers while here.

Dobbin plays in a position where more people are required Robert, but Cannon plays in a position where Everton have never been shorter. Football and opinions on football always make me think of Jimmy Greaves, and his very apt phrase when he used to describe the beautiful game!

To be fair to Dyche, Brian, he hasn’t had two out and out centre forwards at Everton, since he joined the club mate.

I keep harkening back to my Forest days, but only because 4-4-2 was ingrained into us. Get it up to the front man then get it wide, and I remember when Burnley came seventh because I watched a few of their games that season thinking Dyche was getting his 4-4-2 formation correct!

I’m on holiday, I was talking to a Villa fan about deadly Doug, being a Rolls Royce version of Bill Kenwright (simply because he left them a lot of real estate equity - whilst Peter to Paul turned £24 million into negative equity) and the conversation got around to another Forest old boy Martin O’Neill.

He got us top six three years on the spin, said the villa fan, he wasn’t playing 4-4-2 and getting the ball up to the centre forward, then getting it out wide, with runners getting into the box by any chance was he, I replied.

Football is a simple game and only geniuses or idiots try and complicate it imo, so as much as it’s horrible right now, I’m hoping Dyche gets a chance because those stat’s regarding Lampard ommit the most important thing, and that is that Everton would now be a championship club, if it wasn’t for our current manager?

Robert (14), Reading between the lines I think Palmer’s move away from City is because of Palmer’s ambition to be playing regular football in the premier league, he knows he won’t get that City- - yet. It looks like he’s being impatient and wants to play now plus he will be set for life with his first move away from City and possibly a good long career ahead of him.

I think Cannon deserved a chance in the pre season games to prove his worth, he was supposed to be hurt but came on last week and was on the bench for other games, it seems Everton are happy to get a decent fee rather than taking a chance with lad.

Like Tony (12) says, let’s see how this works out.

Cannon has only had 5 minutes playing time and Chermiti has had over 70 minutes, I think Tom deserved more and think he is the better of the 2 players at this time.

Chermiti was awful last night, technically poor and no strength. Cannon could be another Robinson so don't sell him, send only on loan.

I would send him on loan to Norwich, and get a loan fee for now.

Norwich are the type of team that he could get 20+ goals in as they playing attacking football. The result would be double that fee from £8m to £15m plus.

He's a hold for now.

Rob #14,

Agree that Cannon is behind Cole Palmer, a good prospect, but in my opinion for a young player who has played very little for Man City, to sell him, and get £40M+ is mind blowing!

If he's that good, why would City sell him? He's English but he's not at that price now.

Christy, it is mind-blowing to pay that sort of fee for a prospect. But his credentials are miles ahead of Cannon, despite relatively few appearances for City.

He's been a mainstay of the England youth set up for years (30 appearances for the U15s) and has 4 in 13 at U21 level, including a World Cup winners medal.

The only reason he hasn't played more for City is that they've had players like Gundogan and DeBruyne. You only need to see him play to see he has Premier League class written all over him.

Cannon, by contrast, has only got 3 appearances for Ireland's (vastly inferior) youth set-up with just one appearance at U21 level.

Whatever we all might make of him, Dyche very clearly doesn't think he's currently Premier League first team material – and he might very well be right (as he was with Simms who has not made a particularly good start to life with Coventry).

However, both might make a good fist of it in the Championship and become Premier League players in time (and having watched them many times in the U23s then U21s, I hope they both do).

Chermiti also has much better youth international credentials than Cannon (goals and appearances with Portugal also since the U15s) and – and a few Europa League appearances against the likes of Arsenal and Juve under his belt.

I'm not sure how people can be so convinced that he's not as good as Cannon therefore because he's not been here long enough for anyone to form a view.

I can 100% guarantee that, if we sell this lad, it will come back and hit us right in the dangly bits.

He is a top striker and with a good trainer (not Dycheball) he will play for England. Sharpy standard.

Robert #22, Unless you are a Preston fan you haven't seen Cannon. Chermiti didn't play a complete 90 mins in any of the 5 Europa League games he played in and Sporting didn't win any of them.

As for his International credentials he didn't even make the squad for the 2023 under 19 Euros and played twice in the qualifiers being subbed off on the hour in both of them.

Tom Cannon has played for the Republic at U19, U20 and U21. He is so poor that the English FA requested that he commit to the country of his birth (England) rather than that of his father (Ireland).

As to the fee paid for Chermiti, I would much rather have retained Cannon and put those funds towards a full back.

I don't blame Cannon's agent sniffing around upper echlon Championship Clubs for a potential permanent offer and better contract: it's his bloody job, especially at 48 hours before the deadline.

Preston remains my 1st choice destination for Cannon to go on another season-long loan:

- It is close enough to us and James Vaughan would certainly welcome the lesser mileage to travel!

- One fellow ToffeeWeb readers gave a convincing view here before Cannon first went there that their Scouser manager Ryan Lowe would look after and utilise him well. Indeed, he did.

If Thelwell has yet to to send him there again (especially after the arrivals of Beto & Chermiti), it represents:

1) Preston's finance is struggling to a point where they can't pay somewhere around £5K per week to cover part of Cannon's wages. Lowe was quoted repeatedly this summer that he wants Cannon back for another season.

2) Cannon's camp just want to find a club that can afford him playing time AND a new & improved contract

If Point (2) above is true, then it is not likely that Cannon will entertain a reasonable contract extension from us (So refreshing that Thelwell is offering market-rate wages to youngsters instead of the over-the-top rate that Rhino did under Liar Bill).

So, if there is an offer in the neighbourhood around £8 Million with a sell-on clause to get a 20 to 25% cut of Future Transfer Fees, I would not mind booking an Uber for him and his camp right away, to prevent his price depreciates towards contract expiry.

Cannon hasn't really been given a fair chance and was really unlucky in picking up an injury in pre-season. He's an excellent prospect and certainly should have been played ahead of Maupay.

If he's sold we should include a sizeable sell on clause.

Don't blame the lad for wanting out as he's been denied any real opportunity to prove himself. At least he will be given proper game time elsewhere and not be forced to watch Maupay every week from the bench.

Good luck to him.

I agree John, he is a good finisher of chances and wasn’t given an opportunity. This sale will be the most likely one we’ll regret. He will do well for Leicester.

Anything over £5M is good business for us and a great opportunity for Tom.

Good luck, he's a good young striker, just hasn't the pace and strength for how Dyche likes to play.