About time! Everton's transfer activity finally clicking into gear

Things are happening.

Over a month after the season finished, albeit, only two weeks after the transfer window opened, Everton appear to be getting their first bits of business done.

The speculation over Hayden Hackney first began to mount earlier this month, and after weeks of negotiations, Everton seem to have got their man.

Hackney is set to cost Everton an initial £16.5M, according to reports from The Athletic, Paul Joyce of The Times and El Bobble, with a further £8M payable in add-ons. A medical is expected to take place this week, and all being well, the deal will be tied up swiftly, just in time for the Toffees’ pre-season testing to begin.

A stir was caused when The Telegraph initially reported the deal as being closer to £25M, but that was likely just from Middlesbrough aiming to get their brief out there quickly.

There’s enough reliable reporting that Hackney is costing Everton £16.5M up front, and in today’s market, that’s a good deal.

He’s just turned 24, he was the Championship Player of the Season last term, and brings plenty of attributes that Everton simply don’t have in their midfield. He’s quality at progressing the ball forward via passing or, mainly, carrying, which may sound like a pretty basic attribute, but simply put, it’s something that Everton’s midfield have not been good enough at.

Having a player in the middle who can get on the ball and move with it, at a decent pace, is going to be immensely helpful. And while Hackney still has plenty of areas to improve on, he has tenacity and will always get stuck in — something Evertonians will no doubt value.

He also brings leadership qualities, having been captain at Boro, and with question marks still over Idrissa Gana Gueye’s future, it won’t hurt to have another strong personality in the dressing room.

But getting the deal done for Hackney also seems to have coincided with Everton finally pulling the trigger on moving for Tyrique George.

It is understood Everton and Chelsea have held talks for several weeks over whether there was any room to manoeuvre on this transfer, with the Toffees reluctant to pay the supposed £25M buy option, which was included in the loan deal George joined on back in January.

There has, it seems, been a breakthrough, with The Athletic reporting on Monday evening that a deal was close. Other reliable publications, such as BBC Sport, followed up on Tuesday, and El Bobble subsequently posted that a deal had been struck.

So after waiting weeks for some action, Evertonians can look forward to two fresh faces at once.

Okay, George is returning after a loan spell, but nevertheless Everton are signing an exciting winger who has plenty of potential and is only 20. They have also managed to save money on the initial outlay, which, at least in theory, means they have more cash to use on other transfers this summer.

In Hackney, they are bringing in a player plenty of other Premier League clubs were willing to take a punt on too, and he’s at the ideal stage in his career to make an impact. He also gives Everton a bit of breathing space as they wait and see on how their midfield will shape up next season, with Tim Iroegbunam’s name having been circulated to interested parties, too, so Gueye may not be the only central player who departs. It is understood Everton still want to sign a much-needed defensive midfielder, as well.

Whether it’s pure coincidence or not, this uptick in business also coincides with the turn of Everton’s financial year. One can’t help but think that has something to do with being able to push these deals over the threshold.

But what’s now crucial is keeping up the momentum. Everton can’t get all of their business done, but they can at least ensure there are more players in by the time of the first pre-season friendly, against Dundee on July 18th.

There’s over 2 weeks to go, and in this writer’s opinion, Everton should be getting in at least two more players, on top of George and Hackney.

One of those could well be Jack Grealish: Talks have been underway with Manchester City for a while. Most fans would love to see Grealish back, and David Moyes certainly would. The player is clearly keen on the move too, but any deal will have to be done on terms that are right for Everton — another loan switch seems to be the preferred course of action.

The dire situation at right-back must now be prioritised, though. There are options out there and, even if a couple of those may be in action at the World Cup, it’s very unlikely they all will be by this time next week. It’s time to get a move on.

 

 

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