Young Barca forward Deulofeu in on loan?

I think we should sign Zaha on loan. Moyes won't use him as he will have other plans. I'm sure Bill is still on nodding terms with him, hopefully he could use his brain for once and get him.

Ross, if we are going to loan in a youngster who we will be unable to keep I'd rather have Deulofeu from Barcelona. Twice the player Zaha is.

Sam, I don't know much about Deulofeu but I'll take your word for it. Jack, Lukaku would be great as well.

Maybe Bill can use his winning lies on Abramovich...

Sam Hoare. This lad from Barcelona may be good but he would not be our player. The idea of developing a player who we have no chance of keeping seems a little pointless for me. I know about Lukaku etc. but that was West Brom.

Ditto, Ross Edwards. I would be even less inclined to take Zaha. Not sure about him at all to be honest.

Mark Pierpoint, usually I would agree but I think this lad could be an exception to the rule. If he's to be the next Messi/Iniesta then why not benefit from one season while we can?

Maybe, Sam. It remains to be seen whether Martinez goes for him. Thinking about it one positive that could come about is building links with a club like Barcelona.

Ross, Deulofeu looks the cream of that particular crop to me. At this point I think we are the only premier club not to sign anyone so id take any European youngster just to have some YouTube clips to get over-excited about.

But the lad is only 19 and has only ever played in lower league Spanish football. Will probably end up a top player but at this stage in his development we will give Deulofeu probably more than we will get from him.

Sounds good to me, Sam.

Has anyone else heard about and seen this kid, Gerard Deulofeu?

Now I'm very aware this is just paper talk, and that the footage is only for the Barca B team, but this kid has talent. He's exactly the kind of player we should be looking to bring in on loan - video at the bottom:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/transfers-tottenham-everton-eye-gerard-2026477

James - great minds think alike it seems!

Re Deulofeu, I have never seen him play but he's considered one of Barca's brightest talents. I work with a Catalan Barca fan. He was down in the dumps about Barca only reaching the CL semis and compalining that they had a lot of deadwood etc. I asked him who were the best youngsters coming through and the first one he named was Deulofeu.

Geoff – he looks class. Pace, balance, finishing, poise, gets his head up & passes, movement, awareness - the boy looks to have it in spades. Martinez should go all out for him. Dare I say it, he has a touch of the Messi about him, albeit he's 5'11" which bodes well in the rough & tumble of the Premier League.

This is the kind of signing Everton need to give people some excitement.

I can't believe people are now beating the drum for a Barcelona B team youngster to come to Everton for experience. The kid may well be as good as Messi in 7 years time – but right now I think we should be focused on developing talented players for Everton – not Barcelona.

Phil – we need talented players, and we have no money = this is a perfectly sensible way to go at this point in time, in my opinion.

You're right of course, but we simply don't have the cash to take that route.

Needs must, and this kid is extremely talented, plus he's a whole lot more exciting than a nearly 30-year-old journeyman striker from the Ivory Coast.

James

I'm sure he is talented. I'm sure they are very excited about him at Barcelona. They are probably quite keen on him going out on loan and playing a competitive 90 minutes each week. Can we offer him that? I think he would be better off going to a lower La Liga side or even the Championship. Look at Zaha, Barkley and almost all young kids. All the talent in the world – fabulous at times, anonymous at others. They require introducing slowly and at times they will be a liability. I'd prefer to be taking these chances with our own gifted youngsters than nursing the Barca kid.

Barkley, McAleny, Kennedy, Lundstram, Junior – we have promise in droves – we need to nurture our own and add a few permanent first team signings.

Agreed James, I wouldn't usually advocate loan players that we cannot keep but think this kid may be worth it.

Phil — fair point, well made.

Barkley looks good, the others none of us have really seen play — or barely have we? I certainly haven't and only know about them from what I read.

You make a good point though, and Martinez is much more likely to try those young players than DM ever did. My worry is that he bloods too many at once and we struggle.

Of course what we really need are mid-twenties, established players with ability, but sadly we can't afford them so we're stuck with blooding young kids, or buying people like Kone & Alcaraz.

I can't help being excited seeing a kid like Deulofeu mooted as joining us, but you have put some perspective on proceedings. Party pooper! ;-)

Phil, Segio Canales went on loan from Real Madrid to Champions League Valencia, and Bayern often loan their best youngsters out to teams in the upper echelons in the Bundesliga – because they're good enough. The point is not about nursing a Barca youngster, its about getting in a player who is good enough to add quality to our 1st team squad even if only for a year.

Phil... I don't think this is about nursing a youngster. He scored 18 goals in the Spanish equivalent to the Championship... would you be against taking someone like Tom Ince on loan, who imo, is a lesser player? He has exactly the skills to improve us... and we may get him on loan for a couple of seasons, or build up the kind of relationship which allows us to purchase him at a later date.

The Barcelona lad might be a useful squad player in the 'creative' unit that includes Osman, Pienaar, Mirallas. They are starters, so as soon as 1 or more goes you are left with Barkley (fine) and then Naismith (bare bones).

Good, but very depressing, point Jon Withey.

Jim

If he performs for us then there is zero chance of purchasing him – which is my entire point.

If we took Tom Ince on loan with an option to buy, then yes, I'd be more than happy with that one. He is certainly a lesser player – but at least we are gaining an asset rather than just being a feeder club.

If we had to take someone on a loan player without the option to buy, I'd want that player to be of immediate and considerable benefit to our first team. I don't think Deulofeu fits that bill.

How do you know Phil? Have you seen him play?

Yeah.

Deulofeu would potentially be with us for one season, and he looks to have bags of ability – as someone else said, all the top clubs loan out their younger players these days and since we cannot afford to buy anyone young/quality, what's the problem with adding talent to our paper-thin squad?

We may not get them for more than one season, but I don't see any downside when you consider our financial plight and inability to attract any true quality.

As mentioned above, we lack strength in depth, and our lack of creativity has been sorely lacking for years.

Personally I'm all for bringing in a player like Deulofeu.

I have to be with Phil on this one but it's a real conundrum

Our regular first team plus Barkley,Junior, McAleny, Kennedy, Oviedo, Vellios, Duffy and the 5 under 20 internationals. Good grief. Martinez will think it's Christmas..

He has already stated that he intends to bring in a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder and a striker and I would imagine his list is with the negotiating team. Much depends, of course, on the Fellaini, Baines situation.

As for the Barca lad. It's easy to understand why fans would want to see him in an Everton shirt and, being a new manager, Martinez will not be thinking long term. He'll want to hit the ground running with the fans chanting his name.(BK with tears of joy.).
If the lad can come straight in, scores goals and lift the squad, it might provide Martinez with much needed breathing space while assessing the quality and character of those already on board. We'll see.
I think he'll go with experience.

Deulofeu, the lad has it all, except a left foot.

James. Difficult to disagree.. He does look pretty hot.

Sorry lad, this club is no longer a stepping stone to the Barca 1st team.

Try Chelsea

Next...!

I sincerely hope this one has some substance in it. I have watched him in the Under-20s in Turkey and he appears to be a class act! I see Aaron Ramsay is a possible makeweight for the Fellaini deal with Arsenal (again paper talk) but we did try to get him before he opted for the Arse! At least things seem to be starting to get under way, like when the monkey shat on the carpet,it remains to be seen!

Im sick of all the rumours..why don't we just buy someone and get on with it..the s...te just get on with it.

Ofc Spurs are interested, isn't that synonymous with all our targets the last decade?

I hope we get him, can play all positions in attack and a good prospect.
Will never reach the heights of Neymar or Messi so signing him would be a possibility if he likes to play for us.

Shame he didn't come last season and he would have learnt how to track back, defend corners and pass the ball anywhere but forward

We don’t have money for many players, and our youngsters just aint good enough. Barkley is the star, and yet he’s far behind what we need.

If we can get a player for free, for 1 season only, which would allow us to sign someone else in a different position, then why not. He may help us to a higher position in the league, heck even C.L. and then we could sign someone else afterwards.

Beat me to it Alan!

On a serious note, having seen him play I think we could do worse than agree to take him on loan, but request on a clause to buy(at £10M perhaps). If he comes, enjoys his football and does well, we have an option to make the signing permanent and we get a very classy forward who could be a future world star.

Moyes did this to good effect with Arteta and Pienaar.

The only way I would disagree is if he would keep one of our own out of the squad....and to be honest I'm not sure I see too many players in our reserves even close to his ability. McAleny is probably the best young striker we have and he's not in the same league.

Also, I care about the team we have now. Hate all of this, ’what about next season’ mentality. Forward thinking is obviously important, but I don’t want to present to be compromised.

If this spanish lad is the biz, and he was only with us for one season but in that season he scored the winner a wembley, would you be pissed off we didn’t give Vellios more a chance?

People asking why should we develop someone else's player forget that we're not exactly brimming with cash to bring in too many players of our own - especially when we seem to farm out enough of our own youngsters.

Also if he enjoyed it here, settled in, and wasn't entirely confident of breaking into that Barca team, you never know. An idol to many on here (for some reason) Duncan Ferguson joined us on loan, made it very clear he was on loan (when asked would he be staying replied "No way, I'm a Rangers Man") and then spent most of the rest of his under-achieving career with us.

If he is that good then take him. However if the lad comes he should play not sit on the bench for 80 minutes.
My question is will he adapt at least for the season he will be here.
Young players from other countries get homesick and have other orientation problems that affect their play and it is a risk to pay his wages for a year if the expected input turns out to be little or nothing.

I don't want us to loan anyone unless it's with an option to buy at a certain price at the end of the loan period . if things work out and both parties are happy then he signs up otherwise we are letting down others who are committed to the club.

Like it or not we are not now able to buy the calibre of player we would like in the quantities we need, and it is extremely doubtful that the cavalry is coming up from the U21s in the next few seasons, so why not borrow players when it is mutually beneficial.

If we treat the lad well and help him to progress then we may develop a useful relationship with one of the best clubs in the world and may be trusted with a succession of them.

We need to grasp every opportunity that we can to improve the team we send out each week and it is ridiculous to dismiss the idea of getting this talent for a year just because we ultimately won't be signing him up. It is a strategy that shouldn't be overly relied on, but used judiciously it is one with potential benefits.

If he has to choose between spurs and us............ unfortunately I don't think it would be a very difficult decision for us.
They invest and grow stronger and stronger........ were as we, well yes, the ambition of biad is that we simply continue to exist.

Where the fuck is all the money!!!!!!!!!
Teams who are traditionally the bottom feeders seem to have more cash and ambition than us.

I still think Zaha on loan. It would be good for him and good for us as he can beat a man, unlike Pienaar, and he won't even get on the bench at Man U so he'll get some top level first team football which will develop him further.

I think it is a no brainer.

For some time, Everton have failed to find their own 'bobby dazzler' from the young uns at Everton. Even Ross Barkley has yet to step out from the shadows. Somehow still on the fringes considering all the plaudits he has received about him becoming world class eventually.

Young Barca forward Deulofeu illustrates that need for a new young 'bobby dazzler' right now with no more time to wait when someone eventually (who may not come for an age) from the academy and takes centre stage.

How could we hope to get Zaha on loan when we all hope and pray that Roberto will tell Moyes to stick his next offer for Baines where the sun doesn't shine. Nor would I want him as part of a deal.

Geoff Freeman – I don't think Moyes is going to hold a grudge just because we reject a bid for our most prized asset. I personally think it depends on whether Baines is willing to sign an improved contract with us. If Baines doesn't sign a new contract, then I think he will be sold for somewhere in the region of £15-20 million. Its as simple as that in my opinion.

If Moyes thinks its too soon for Zaha to be part of his first teams plans which he often does with younger players, then Moyes might consider loaning him out to us or another PL club to gain PL experience and see how he copes at that level.

Steven, the teams at the bottom who are spending more than us probably have a vastly lower wage bill than us. Newly promoted teams will have lots of cash due to having a squad with championship wages and suddenly getting the tv windfall.

Either that or they're doing what we did 5-10 years ago and are starting to borrow money upto their limit. Unfortunately we already borrowed ours and spent it, and can't borrow any more.

Our squad actually has some quality players in. Unfortunately Moyes added a lot of dross like naismith, and players like Neville and Heitinga on massive salaries. We're also paying 2-3 players £60-70k / week.

This means we have little to no money left available for transfers.

Gerard Depardieu???

I was Roberto's biggest fan but isn't he a bit heavy like?

Sorry to break up the theme of the trail here but.............why would a new manager (with aspirations) strategise to bring in a loan player that he wouldn't expect to keep after one season, if he fits the bill (that's Bill without the capital B, should anybody wish to use some Liverpool humour in reply) :)

Wayne #056, Everton's problem is that the borrowings were secured against revenue streams (season tickets, broadcast revenue). Ally that with less-than-stellar commercial deals then you can see why, with a board who don't have the personal wealth to indulge us (not their fault BTW) we are a sell-to-buy club.

As ridiculous as this sounds, if it weren't for the debt (and hence it's servicing), we'd actually be quite the profitable operation!

Zaha? Do yourself a favour and forget that particularly out of reach target.

Why on earth would Man Utd loan us a bag of footballs, let alone one of the most talented up & coming player this country has seen in years? Zaha if anything, will go back to Palace on loan, not to a team challenging for a top 6 position in the Premier League next season (that's us by the way).

You have to look at the bigger picture, and Deulofeu would be perfect for us, and like someone said above, the opportunity to foster a healthy working relationship between our Spanish manager and Barcelona should not be overlooked. Everton should be working their collective bollocks off to pull of this deal - the rewards could be really worthwhile for a club like ours.

We're not a big fish any more, and that's a fact. Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs in the world as we all know, so I don't see any downsides to taking their young players on loan, even if it is for one season as a time. It's a win/win deal for them and more importantly, us.

We don't have any money, in case you haven't noticed!

I'm all for a Deulofeu loan, but I wouldn't want Zaha. I doubt very much whether Moyes will fancy him and the lad must be sick as a parrot at having signed for SAF and then finding himself managed by someone with very different tastes. My bet is that he gets loaned out and then sold a year or two down the line.

Kev – why don't you think Moyes will fancy him? Have you watched him play? He's incredible and will likely be a big world star at Man Utd.

I don't think Zaha works hard enough, that's why, James. I agree that he does have star quality, but he seems pretty inconsistent. DM generally doesn't like those type of players. (Mirallas is a possible exception.) Plus, he's only 20 and falls into the "promising" category. If you think of our own most promising player, young Ross, you'll see that DM does not tend to pick them until he's ironed out what he considers to be their flaws. Thereby ironing out their creativity, too, perhaps.

I see your point, but I would counter it by saying that with us Moyes was massively hand-tied when it came to blooding young players – what I mean by that is that we had a decent starting 11, but beyond them our young players and fringe players are not that good.

At Man Utd he will have a fabulously talented starting 11, and a bench full of class Internationals and top quality young players. Based on that, I'd say you may well see his philosophy change markedly in the coming seasons – he will have much more scope to use young players at Man Utd because they have a much better team around them, unlike here at Everton where our best 11 was only just good enough to compete.

If you see what I mean!

I'm not sure Man Utd's squad is significantly better than ours, man for man. In attack, definitely yes, but elsewhere I think not. What they had going for them was a winning mentality, instilled by SAF. We shall see, but I stand by my opinion that Moyes would not have bought Zaha and will not know how to handle him.

Really? I think their squad is indeed significantly better than ours - they have cover in every position, their first team is man for man better than ours and every one of their backup players is better than ours.

I guess it comes down to perception, and that's what makes football so subjective.

I can't see any Everton player, Baines aside, who would improve Manchester United's side. Second point: Zaha is a mystifying one to me personally, as I've only ever seen him play utterly gash and like a twelve year old. His 'tricks' inevitably ended in putting the ball out of play in the play off final, and I hardly noticed him in the semi final legs. He is obviously highly rated by those in the game.

Aside from Vidic for Distin, I can't see any Man Utd player who would improve our defense. Fellaini would get into their team, and Mirallas would be in with a shout, competing with Young, Nani and Valencia. I make that about 50/50.

They have some shocking squad players. Jonny Evans is bloody rubbish. So is Anderson. Giggs will only play a handful of games this season, and Fletcher may not play any. Up front they really pack a punch, unlike us.

The argument that we shouldn't take extremely talented youngsters on loan, if we don't have a purchase option is ludicrous..

We have a transfer/finance model at our club which means we rarely hold on to our best players anyway.

Opposing the recruitment of this player on these grounds would appear rather churlish given our state.

I'd rather see great players at our club for 1 or 2 seasons rather than no seasons at all...

So Kev, you think the only reason they've dominated English football for the last 20 years, and the current squad walked the league last year is down to the SAF's mentality?

I can't agree on that but not to worry – it's all about opinions.

I'm off out to cook meat on a hot firey metal thing now, so catch you later :)

Ciaran - one question, where does the money come from for quality players?

Reality bites mate.

Mark Tanton, I can't agree that only Baines would improve the Man Utd squad. I think Mirallas is as good as any of Man Utd wingers, A Young isn't anything speicial and Nani is very inconsistent. I would put KM on par with Valencia as well.

Fellaini would also improve Man Utd's CM because their CM is nothing special either. Man Utd don't really have a midfield destroyer like Fellaini.

Apart from the 3 players mentioned above – yes, none others from our squad would improve the Man Utd squad, although, we could maybe make a little case there for S Coleman.

I've seen Zaha play a few times, and I thought he was outstanding at Championship level..... a cut above most players at that level.

James – come back! You can't just say you" don't agree" and then skip off, as happy as Larry, for a barbecue! I need an opportunity to grind you down with my remorseless logic. Ha-ha!

And hey – don't burn the bangers. Easily done.

Kev – I can see James's reasoning in choosing a barbecue instead of having a debate with you.

What I can't understand is James not watching Andy Murray in this year's final.

James Marshall, I'm, sorry but you are talking utter crap mate. Since Moyes has joined Man Utd there have been rumours after rumours about who he will sign, and we are hearing Ronaldo, Bale, Fabregas being mentioned by the tabloids.

Zaha is only a squad player, he'll only play in the Carling Cup at most, or he might be benched. They have so many attacking options, Nani, Valencia, Kagawa, Hernandez, Welbeck, I cannot see Zaha getting a sniff.

"Zaha? Do yourself a favour and forget that particularly out of reach target." — Out of reach? He's not bleeding Messi or Ronaldo you know.

Moyes will probably send him out on loan to a PL club to learn his craft, gain more top level experience, and Everton would be perfect for him to do that.

Better than going for an unproven Barca kid, at least Zaha has experience of English football.

Speaking of Wimbledon Mark. Some omens.

77 years since a British man won Wimbledon, today is the anniversary of the London 7/7 bombings in 2005, and the last Brit to win a Wimbledon final was Virginia Wade in 1977.

Coincidence or what?

Ross - maybe it will be 77-75 in the final set?

It's two sets to nil to Murray at the moment. COYM!

Ross - don't hold back will you. Mate.

Man Utd will keep Zaha on their books, and if he goes out on loan I'll have a tenner with you it isn't to us. I know he's not Messi, Bale or Ronaldo, but they paid £10M for him because he's an up & coming talent.

I simply don't think he'll go to a top 6 Premier League club on loan, but thanks for your input.

I normally take YouTube compilations with a pinch of salt. I remember watching Billy's best moments at Lokomotive Moscow and thinking we had signed the new Kanchelskis! However, this guy really does look special. Yes, some of the defenders he was up against looked poor and made his job easier, but his finishing and passing look a cut above your normal player. Worth getting on loan as a wildcard. I expect he would get more playing time here than at Spurs with their bloated midfield (just checked and there are 12 first teamers on their books right now!). This lad will be a star of the future, at Barcelona, but if we could give him his big break in return for a little magic I think everyone would be happy.