Sigurdsson is finally an Everton player

Well done Everton !

Also, will he be eligible to play against Split next week, or was there some kind of deadline date to submit your squad for these qualifying games?

Welcome (Z)iggy.

Now show us some Stardust and 'Become the Special Man.'

I liked Lukaku - I think he would have score 30+ goals for us this season with the creativity we know have from midfield. He will obviously be successful at United, but we can not dwell on that, plus we got staggering money for him. So his replacement will have to be top class. We all know that and Walsh/Koeman certainly know that, so lets get it done. I'm 100% certain we will.

Who though. Benteke (divisive but would be fun to watch him succeed at EFC after failing at LFC) - worth a go? Costa? I wish. Don't particularly like him but he his class and is a prove PL goal scorer. Demberle?

How many times we have groaned in despair upon seeing a free-kick or corner Go to waste, well, we now have the best taker of set pieces since Beckham.

He can score, create and has football intelligence. In a way, the opposite type of no10 to Barkley, who is skill and muscle but zero intelligence.

I look forward to seeing what he will bring us. Now for a striker and a left back, and maybe a Winger/wide-forward.

Taken Barry's #18 jersey according to the Everton site.

Now to get in a decent #9 - I think we should go for Dolberg, well worth it if we can't get Giroud.

Stek, Williams, Cuco, Besic, Klaassen, Lookman, Calvert-Lewin

I think this is our most likely / strongest line up.

I would LOVE Kenny to start at RB, but Koeman does not think he is ready - which I trust.

Williams & Jags will share the games this year & play based on their form. Jags looks in better form at the moment, so I'd go with him for now.

£200 for 7th, I see it as £200m for a a chance, yes a chance of closing the gap on teams that have out spent and out performed us for years.

That's if this Leo fella comes that is, and although I'm not sure we will,upgrade on Lukaku's goals, I just hope we can get a better allround footballer, to help the players around him score a few more?

Slight amend to your team shape:

Pickford
Holgate Keane Jags
Baines Idrissa Schneiderlin Davies
Sigurdsson Rooney
Sandro

Now that's looking the dogs d's...

But he's a blue now so I will cheer and support him with all my heart. The defense looks solid, Wayne will buy some free kicks and Gylfi will slot them! COYB

Vardy and Van Dijk next please.

Has premier league experience (bad, I know), scores goals for fun, is once again fully fit, has a point to prove here, would cost around £20m. What's to lose?

Just need someone now to make that ball stick up front. I was impressed with Calvert-Lewin the other day at stoke, looked sharp, fast and still only young.

Player I am most impressed with so far Pickford, looks like the perfect goalie.

My team.

Pickford
Holgate Keane Jagielka Baines
Gana Davies/Schneid
Klaassen
Rooney Sandro/Calvert-Lewis Sigurdsson/Mirallas

I have been a critic of BK, but now accept I was wrong in assuming that BK was part of the problem. Sorry Bill.

However, Swanseas intransigence has caused unnecesary delays in getting Gilfi in. It will take 3-4 weeks to bed him in.

Never mind he's here now.

COYB

How about a move for Zlatan?

I'd say we've made a killing.

In the last two seasons for Swansea and country he's gone up a notch. I still think the money is crazy but if you want comparisons, I think we've just bought the closest player to Mikel Arteta (pre-injury) we have had at the club. With better players round him, I hope he flourishes.

People go on about him not doing it at Spurs, well they're forgetting he was there during AVB and Tim Sherwood when they were firstly all about Bale and then secondly in trouble in the league and had brought in Eriksen with the Bale money and he plays where Sig does so not great circumstances for him.

Mind you, that experience must have helped him at Swansea in recent seasons!

Probably good for Wayne that we don't have a player nicknamed Gylf.

Siggy will be a great signing.

Kenwright has always had the best at heart for Everton in my opinion never agreed with the billy bullshitter comments. The man just didn't have the funds to compete. Turned us around since the Johnson days that's for sure well in BK

I appreciate that he has cost an astronomical amount, but believe, he will deliver, if the manager plays him correctly, and the other players too, it's inconceivable, to buy a player like him, and not compliment, with the correct players to feed off him.

Welcome Siggy!

And I no longer smoke!

We have no idea what part BK played in this transfer so best to leave him out of things.

He is still young and I believe will improve, at the end of the day, he knows where the goal is, and they all have the same position, and dimensions, regardless of country!

I would also, now we are spending, go for Kasper Dolberg, who, from what I have seen of him, is like a young Denis Bergkamp, he turned out okay, unless anyone knows any different?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, a versatile defender, left sided, or start playing Calum Connolly, if It's to be believed, he allegedly, was being offered to Swansea, as makeweight, for the ٣M deficit, in the Sigurdsson deal, and that was when it was 㿔M being offered.

Over all, I am pleased with all our acquisitions, with the exception of Cuco, who I still maintain, is not bad, but not good either, going forward, but totally inept at defending, and he was brought in as cover for Seamus!

If Barkley doesn't go (due to injury or whatever), does that mean the Club just stumped up 40 million for Siggy, plus his wages, and still has to pay Barkley's wages?

That's an investment if this crossed the line and the Brass knows we can't offload Ross.

If we ought to have learned anything recently it is that these two cannot be in the same eleven.

Wouldn't it be nice if we did back four and 1 holding-mid increasing, therefore, the potential for width, pace, and space (hate to day it but Man Utd on Sunday were a joy to behold with wide players and three in the middle).

From what we have now (and there is more incoming):

Pickford
Kenny
Keane
Jagielka
Baines
Gueye
Davies / Klaassen
Lookman
Rooney
Sigurdsson
Calvert-Lewin

Would love to be able to pick from the following:

Tierney
Chilwell
Sakho (forget about vvd)
Gray
Townsend
Dolberg
Giroud
Vardy
Dembele
Luan

Lenny (23): out of curiosity, why does Sigurdsson have a ‘dubious CV'?

Can I just mention "other operating expenses" going up by 20m a year since Earle and Green were brought on board and 8m a year going to the BVI let alone "GP falling down so we had to move to Kirkby".

Yeah lets remember what BK has done.

Speed up front is something we appear to be lacking, but then again so is height to convert from our new set-piece master.

Given that Koeman has seemed to historically favour a big unit up front, my money is on someone in the Benteke / Giroud mould.

I will watch this particular space with great interest indeed .

Two big games these Split and Man City games. We should try and get out of sight in the first half against Split and do the opposite in the Man City game. Keeping it tight in the first half, frustrate them, and grab the winner in the second. Pace will be important factor in those halves. Koeman needs to rotate the squad well here: one defensive midfielder in Split game and two in Man City game, maybe even three.

There is also better chance of winning Europa League if we take it seriously. We will be 5th favorites to win it behind Arsenal, Milan, Villarreal and one of the English teams that will drop off the from the Champions League – most likely Spurs (pot 3 and Wembley) or Liverpool (pot 3 or 4 and Martinez-esque defending).

I think we messed up not going for Iheanacho!

Bony an interesting one , could get back to being a top striker with an injection of motivation and fitness.Maybe able to get him on loan or at the right price. He would possibly be amenable to it as he presumably won't have to move.

Last summer we nearly got Sissoko and Kone. We now have Keane and Sigurdsson. Whether that's by luck or design I don't know but we are in a much better position.

Oh! What could have been!

As for the new striker, it is being reported this morning that our manager is open to bringing Diego Costa on loan, even until January.

This could work well, giving Giroud time to realise sitting on Arsenal's bench and being an impact sub is as good as it's going to get there.

That is only if Diego doesn't fall in love with EFC and stay, of course.

Link

Kasper Dolberg is my choice, but he's a massive gamble. He'd also cost £30-40m and there's a very real chance that he could find things too difficult in the Premier League in his first season, at such a young age, and he will not be able to have time to adapt as we need a no9 so badly and he will have cost so much.

Which means, that £40m transfer for Benteke, and a 15 goal a season return is what we can expect.

image uploader

A CV that includes being loaned out from Reading, how bad do you have to be to suffer that indignity. To add to that you are loaned to the likes of Shrewsbury and Crewe. Not a great CV at the outset, some may even say dubious.

Hopefully Everton will get value for money out of the 㿙m fee and 㿅m in salary guaranteed. I am not sure they will. But am happy to be proven wrong.

As a minimum we need a solid player to lead the line. Someone who can contribute double figures in the league while helping the quality players he'll have arriving from deeper positions.

I must admit, as much as I can't stand him, Costa would be perfect. Ability plus that ability to occupy (and wind up) defenders.

Two weeks to go...

"A CV that includes being loaned out from Reading, how bad do you have to be to suffer that indignity. To add to that you are loaned to the likes of Shrewsbury and Crewe. Not a great CV at the outset, some may even say dubious."

Context is everything.

Signed by Reading for their academy in 2005, aged just 16, his loan to Shrewsbury in the 2008-09 season was for a single month, aged 19, to gain first team experience. In that month he made 5 appearances and scored 1 goal, scoring on his debut, no less.

In February 2009 in the same season, still aged 19, he went to Crewe on a month long 'emergency loan.' Again, he scored on his debut in a 4-0 win at Brighton.

Crewe, fighting relegation from League One, were so impressed they extended the loan until the end of that season. He made 15 appearances and scored 3 goals in his time there.

In the three years he played for Reading's first team, he made 42 appearances scoring 19 goals. In August 2010, aged just 21, he was sold to Hoffenheim for a Reading record sale fee of £6.5m.

I could go on, but the above puts a completely different slant on your post, doncha think?

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte on exiled striker Diego Costa after speaking to a newspaper: "I prefer to laugh, it is great. I can tell you everyone who works at Chelsea knows what happened with him last season.

We do not need a nut job at our club

He scores goals. A 6 month loan and see how it goes would do for me. If he's too nuts then chuck him in the reserves and don't pay his wages. If he focusses that energy into scoring at the rate he has for the last few years then great, we've got a top class striker to help the cause.

On another note i'm jealous of Spurs getting Davinson Sanchez. I think Keane will be a great buy but reckon Sanchez could prove top class too and would be a great partner for Keane as he has some good pace.

My personal take is a difference of opinion on what proportion of the guaranteed £40m would be upfront.

When was the last time to your knowledge that we niggled over a player??

Fellaini? Schneiderlin? Gueye? Williams? Klaassen? Keane, Pickford???? Maybe Lescott! Stones....Lukaku! – Just a few of our biggest recent transfers which we got in okay!