Funes Mori sold to Villarreal

So with Jags and Williams past it, the leaves us with Keane. We playing one at the back now?

Then you have forgotten Brendan Galloway and Tyias Browning. And what about promising youngsters Morgan Feeney, Lewis Gibson or Matty Foulds? Plus there's plenty of time for Brands & Silva to bring in a new centre-back.

I think we'll be covered for centre-backs come the start of the season.

Neither he nor Keane are naturally left footed.

Perhaps Jags is being kept as a back-up.

I understood that Williams had been told he can leave.

Both Galloway and Browning are back from loan and both did pretty well for us previously when promoted to the first team they only seemed to fail when out on loan.

We are also still being mentioned in the hunt for De Ligt from Ajax - although at 㿞m for an 18 year old, it is a bit of a risk.

If all else fails, as Jason at 5 says, if the deal is done for Mori, Brands / Silva must be pretty satisfied they have a definite solid back-up plan in place, before they let him go.

What I do like about this move is that there has not even been a sniff of it in the gossip columns - till the deal is done.

That is how it should be and hopefully heralds the new "Everton Way".

If he has been let go it's because Brands and Silva have a replacement (or two) lined up for centre back, as well as willing to give more game time to our young 'uns already on the books.

He'll suit the Spanish league more.

Unfortunately Williams is injured, so won't be going anywhere soon. But very much doubt he'llbe anywhere near the first team when fit, January free transfer move for him.

Very much expect someone to come in.

I wonder if Jags will stay as back up and move into the coaching set up? I'm sure he probably feels he can still do a very decent job, especially at someone like Fulham, Huddersfield, Bournmouth and the like. Maybe a move would be a good move for all.

However, is he a top 6 player? No! Therefore he had to go. Just thought others would have been out the door before him.

I think we don't want to be embarrassed by how low the fee is. I'm guessing we've took a big hit on him.

Keane, Jags and Holgate (who I mentioned on another thread reminds me of a young Des Walker) will be our first three CB's, with one being targeted to come in. I hope Holgate gets more game time because I really rate him, but I guess it depends on who comes in. Will it be someone ready to go straight into the first team, or a younger player to compete with the 3 mentioned above.

Now lets get rid of Mirallas, Williams, Bolasie, Klaassen and Rooney . . .

He was unlucky with his injury, and missed a lot of game time, ironically when we needed him the most.

Unbelievable is right. If it IS true lets get a few more on the move clubs must have money to burn.

I do like the way it has been announced and it hasn't been a prolonged transfer. The gossip column before had Tony Pulis bidding ٣ million for him. Shows how much they know, or not? Maybe this is a sign of things to come?

I feel totally at ease with this guy calling the shots. Never felt that way with Walsh.

Carry on the cull – Robles, Funes Mori, Rooney...

Despite not knowing the money received from Valencia I like others am happy that the first any of us heard about this is when the deals been done, I hope this is the way the club will conduct it's business going forward.

There will likely be a good few more following Ramiro out of the door, especially if the club is offered what it deems a good offer be it to cut the losses/make a small profit and to reduce the wage bill at the same time. Whether the players not deemed upto the standard required be it due to their lack of quality or their attitude.

Jagielka still has ability but isn't getting better and they really have to get someone as Holgate is not a viable alternative.

Hopefully this is the start of some wheels turning in the right direction.

Also, there may be guys from the youth setup who could step up at a push.

He certainly wasn't shit and was unlucky with injuries. I think Argentina could have done with him tonight. Good luck to him. We now need to sign a replacement.

We can't go into the season relying on Jags again... can we?

Not the first I'd have gotten shot of in that aging defense; so I hope the dynamic duo have an ace up their sleeve.

I thought there was a dotted line between every player and every club now, how did this one get missed?! Anyway, I like it, the way it should be done.

I was never a big fan, he always looked ungainly and on the point of messing up, but best of luck to him.

Keane – one of the worst defenders I have ever seen, the guy has no pace, is shit in the air, and that is when he isn't ducking out of heading it.

Jagielka – no longer first choice option due to age.

Holgate – rookie, very doubtful he will fill out enough to be centre-back.

Feeney – who knows he's barely kicked a ball for the first team.

We need two first-choice centre-backs in my opinion!

Or perhaps, the player wants a move:
- eg: Everton need a left back, I'll tell my mate who works for the Sun that Everton are in for you, that'll alert them and we can let them know you have a release fee they can afford
- or: I'm going to speak to my friend at the Sun and tell him Everton are interested, it'll bounce around a few more papers, and then maybe some other clubs like Bournemouth might be interested and then we can get a buzz going for you, and you never know maybe Everton will be interested afterall

There's a lot of stuff generated by agents for lots of different reasons.

Seriously, though, this is good news: the defence never seemed secure with Funes Mori – he would not have been first choice. Next up: Besic, Williams, Schneiderlin, Bolasie, Rooney, Mirallas, Niasse, and McCarthy are next. I'd say Klaassen as well but he's clearly only worth half of what we paid so maybe we'll give him a go or use him as a makeweight. Likewise Sandro.

One thing I've noticed is Premier League teams are not seemingly desperate to sign our players. Walsh & Koeman must have cost this club a fortune. I'd be happy to jettison the players above and sign 4 top players and just give it a go next season.

If it's decisive management... great; if it's player power on the rise, then things are getting worse.

I'm also liking the new link with Loftus-Cheek. A complete midfielder who can defend and attack. A rare commodity in a midfielder these days.

His nauseating Falklands rant was enough to sack him alone. Lovely to watch Croatia hammer the Argies.

But perhaps he thinks that the higher visibility of Spain will help him regain his place in the Argentine national team picture. Based on today, They sure as hell have some openings! Anyway, I wish him the best.

Watford (in order of how often they played for Silva)
Kabasele - 27yrs, 187cm, right foot
Mariappa - 31, 180cm, right foot
Prodl - 30, 194, right foot
Britos - 32, 189cm, left foot
Wague - 27, 191cm, right foot
Note - Silva didn't sign any of them or anyone to play centre back and had injuries to Prodl and Britos for extended periods.

Hull, in order of games played:
Maguire - 23, 194cm, right
Ranocchia - 28, 195, right
Dawson - 32, 189, right
Davies - 31, 188, right
Note - Silva signed Italian international Ranocchia from Inter on Loan, he is still on the fringe of things for Inter and now 30 years of age.

Olympiacos, in order of games played:
da Costa - 30 yrs, 191cm, right foot
Siovas - 29, 191, left
Botia - 29, 188, right
Vouras - 23, 183, right
- Note da Costa was bought for ٟ.8m - He was previously bought by Sam Allardyce for West Ham in 2011 (4 seasons before) - note currently playing for Morocco in the World Cup.
- Also, Goutas was signed for 𧽴k. He was a 21 year old Greek, signed when Silva had just joined and moved on loan to another Greek side in Jan, barely playing a game (sounds like a transfer nothing to do with Silva).

Sporting, in order of games played:
Oliveira - 22 yrs, 187cm, right foot
Mauricio - 29, 185, right
Figuiredo - 24, 188, right
Sarr - 20, 196, left
Ewerton - 29, 188, left
- Note: Oliveira was bought for ٟ.62m, he was just 22.
- Also: Sarr was bought for 𨀼k, they doubled their money at the end of the season selling him to Charlton.
- And: Ewerton was signed aged 25 at the time, on loan for 6 months from January, before Sporting signed him at the end of the season properly.

Estoril, in order of games played (only players with more than 30 games listed):
Vitorria - 31 years old (now), 195cm, right
Tavares - 30, 188, right
Fernandes - 32, 187, right

If you're wondering what cm is in old money then:
6'0" is 183cm
6'1" is 185cm
6'2" is 188cm
6'3" is 191cm
6'4" is 193cm
6'5" is 196cm

I think we can tell a pattern that Silva plays and signs big centre-backs. At least 6'2" or 188cm.

What about our present squad:
Keane - 25 years, 189cm, right foot
Funes Mori - 27, 186, left foot
Holgate - 21, 187, right * listed from 184-187cm but the lad is clearly young and growing!

Williams - 33, 183, right
Jagielka - 35, 180, right
Browning - 24, 180, right
Pennington - 23, 185, right
Feeney - 19, 190, right * height unknown - value comes from FIFA!
Gibson - 17, 185, left
Foulds - 20, 180, left * left back now?

Quite Simply, if Silva does prefer height at the back, then we've quite a small side, and maybe this is why Silva is moving on Funes Mori, so expect some height to be brought in

I'm surprised we've let him go right now given what it leaves us with:

Keane – I still think he could come good but he was responsible for a lot of mistakes last season
Williams – Just an all-round embarrassment last season. Enough said.
Jagielka – A great servant but too old now. Too slow and not the tallest either.
Holgate – I'm not convinced he'll ever be good enough.

I can only assume that Brands and Silva already have replacements lined up.

What matters is that it's one less body and one less wage. There's a limit on what our wage bill is allowed to be under Financial Fair Play rules but we're not the Everton Football Club that had sell to buy anymore. If we make a loss on a few players, it's not the catastrophe it would have been a few years back when we were looking for money down the back of the sofa.

Let's see how many more are off-loaded before we spend 㾶 million on an ex-Man Utd player...

I'm not sure that Silva can turn this Everton team into gold... only time will tell... but these days no-one gets the time.

Have we signed anyone of note yet?? Pickford will be sold if he has a good World Cup.

Good luck, Ramiro, leave with integrity intact and respect for your performances on the pitch. There's too much sentiment of players hanging around on the premise that they might do well. Proof is in the pudding.

I don't think the club has mandated the selling of Funes Mori above Williams and Co, it's just that there was a club that actually wanted him for a decent price.

Put it this way, for all the doom-mongery like yours, I'm counting on Brands to get the numbers down and sign three or four quality players this summer. I'm looking forward to seeing what he's got up his sleeve.

I can tell you one thing for sure: We'll be spending more on transfer fees than what we bring in. It's not sell-to-buy in the context you're thinking of.

The fact is, Klaassen's sale is protracted because we don't want to make a huge loss, so negotiations are longer. The likes of Bolasie too. While we're stuck with Williams til January and he's injured. I am sure negotiations over the likes of Besic, Sandro are ongoing. Mirallas may be difficult; a loan maybe... with us paying part of his wage.

But Funes Mori was cheap, could be sold without much difficulty, so of course was done more quickly.

Williams will go when he is fit enough to sell, which leaves us with Jags, Keane, Holgate and Pennington (who apparently is highly rated). I can't see us reintegrating Galloway and Browning back into the first team squad.

We must bring in a left-footed centre-back now; Pennington looked worse than Funes Mori the couple of times I have seen him play and it's risky playing anyone inexperienced alongside Keane who needs a steady start as he is error-prone himself.

Let's hope for some creativity for midfield and another striker as well before the season starts.

I don't think it has too much weight, but I think it would have been a better move for the new regime to cull from the bottom. Williams may be injured so hard to sell, but he also has no future at the club. Let the supporters know you mean business by either paying him off to terminate his contract or put out a team list with him having no squad number. Something to let the fans know he won't be part of the plan moving forward, because, quite frankly, if Funes Mori is playing in Spain and Williams is still playing for Everton next season, then we've gone backwards in a bad way.

He did okay for us though so I wish him all the best. Some piss and nasty comments on here for someone who did no wrong.

I think we all got excited because he was an Argentine international, but judging on the perfomances at the world cup I'd get in the side.

I decidedly average defender, except for the blood rushes to the head when he was a total liability.

That said, I'd rather it was that porky waste of space Williams who'd gone.

There's a reason he cant get a game in the current, awful Argentina defence and just because he's left footed doesn't make him the answer to all of our defensive problems.

Socks over his knees tells you all you need to know - a blag hardman who won't be missed.

Let the cull continue.

Villarreal may well be better for him and I wish him well. He seemed as good as any of the central defenders we have and I hope we haven't made a mistake.

Ashley Williams
Cuco Martina
Davy Klaassen
Mohamed Besic
Yannick Bolasie
Sandro Ramirez
Kevin Mirallas
Oumar Niasse
Shani Tarashaj

That's 9 players which will be a big ask this summer with the World Cup and transfer window closing early and to replace with maybe five or six quality signings if we are to challenge the top four.

I think we have to be patient with Silva and Brands as it seems too much work to do this summer and maybe wait until next summer until we see more of a team that is built from these two.

I expect Rooney to follow soon enough, but I wouldn't be surprised if 4 or 5 are sent packing on transfer deadline day – when we know more about who's coming in.

Heard a rumor Ross could be on his way back!!!!!

COYB

The clearout begins!!!

He was one of those players who, as they say on here, always had a mistake in him. I think the likes of Williams and some of our other centre-backs addled the memories of too many whilst he was out injured.

'A better player when he wasn't playing?'

Another out the door but probably one of the easier ones to shift. The likes of Klaassen, Williams and Niasse will be harder I imagine. July 1st not far off so hope there'll be a lot more movement in the next couple of weeks.

Besic for Gibson would be a good one. Finally get rid of Besic and bring in a decent centre-back.

I am finding 㾽.5M hard to believe unless it is some accountancy jiggery pokery to get around the FFP rules.

I thought we would get our ٧M back on him, over about 5 years.

If they have got the 㾽.5M, I salute them.

Who? Not a player we'll ever miss for me.

For undisclosed fee, read tuppence.

I think he could do a job for Swansea and help them get back into the premiership. It is the right challenge at the right time for him. He needs something to wake him up out of his footballing torpor.

We will have to let him go on a free or a low fee to get his wages off the books.

Hopefully this was due to having no direction under Allardyce, and also something that will never be repeated.

The thing that's bugging/worrying me at the moment is that everyone seems to be accepting the fact that we're not making any signings due to the World Cup, yet other clubs are finding and signing players despite the distraction of the tournament.

I could be wrong but I believe West Ham, Leicester, Man Utd, even newly promoted Wolves who've signed Portugal's World Cup goalkeeper, are doing business seemingly unhampered by the World Cup.

There's something decidedly 'Everton' about the current state of limbo we seem to be in. I can see others stepping in to make the best summer signings while we prevaricate as usual. Will we sign Lozano for example? Or will we lose out to someone who will step in with an offer he can't refuse? Couldn't Brands have reached an agreement with his agent in advance of the tournament, and the same goes for the German defender we apparently want, but who is now on the radar of a few other clubs.

Sorry if I sound negative amongst all the recent positivity but I'm getting twitchy, I admit. Brands and Silva have so far talked a good game but so far haven't really DONE anything apart from offloading a few players.

Oh yes, and to those wanting rid of Niasse, let's not forget that between them, he and Rooney contributed 20 goals last season. So do we really want to be rid of the two players who scored almost half our season's total at the same time? Niasse is surely the perfect impact sub, has played under Silva at Hull, and surely would continue to be a good squad player if we were to hang on to him. It's not as if we are blessed with a plethora of natural goal scorers at the moment is it?

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/06/21/88-million-for-juanpe-ramirez-would-be-incredibly-shrewd-busines/

Could it be its a done deal after Funes Mori did one sharpish?

No it's not just you, I am getting twitchy too.

I am keeping the faith with Brands and Silva though, and giving them time. Proper discussions and assessment will have been going on and it won't be easy for them to get the players they want at a fair price/wage.

I am expecting some good business to be done over the next few weeks. Without it the twitchiness will develop into nervous spasms.

With Funes Mori, he was a player the new management wanted to offload and not a vital cog in the team, so taking advantage of interest in him when it crops up makes sense. I don't doubt they will bring in another centre-back and next season; we will, at a minimum, be able to pick from Holgate, New Guy, Keane, Jagielka & one or two youngsters as back-up.

I liked Ramiro, but he wouldn't have been a starter for any of the top six teams, so his departure doesn't weaken us in comparison. I hope the rest of our transfer dealings are conducted as swiftly before the inevitable "West Ham also linked" nonsense.

Jagielka was very good, although his distribution has always been poor – but he's well past his best and only good enough for back-up.

Kenwright chose to sell Lukaku in order to bring the washed-up Rooney back – if we wanted to sell him, we should have replaced him first – his importance to us was far greater than Funes Mori's.

All the best anyway Ramiro. He was far from the top of my "Gotta Go" list, decent squad defender and chipped in a goal or too.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2018/jun/03/transfer-window-summer-2018-every-deal-europes-top-five-leagues

For that money, I think it's very poor business. Limited as he may be, he was probably our best centre-back apart from Jags. Who the hell can you buy for ٢M who is any better?!

This poses the question as to whether Silva can effect a very necessary improvement in these 'regulars', as well as adding the vital new faces!

No idea what the sale price was and don't care too much. On one hand I thought he was a chance to make the team this year, on the other he's no world beater so if we're targeting better then I'm happy.

Always looked like we would shift players on before adding to the squad... so I guess this is a good sign. Things are starting to happen.

Umm. Does your presumption of players remaining actually justify guessing if Silva can make them better?

Bit like: When the apocalypse strikes next week, will Mrs May deal with it?

I think the question of who Marco can make good depends on who we have. None of us know that just yet.

Having said that, you can only do a deal if the player is willing to go and someone is willing to buy, and we don't know the full circumstances. The move could well turn out to be a good one for him if he can command a regular place. Villarreal finished 5th in La Liga and will be in Europe next season, so it could even be seen as a step up, at least from the Everton of the past season.

Our central defence now looks particularly slow and ponderous – I can only hope that Marco has a replacement in mind.

The squad undoubtedly needs trimming and improving so, for me, this is a step in the right direction.

Just be thankful we are shifting players seen as surplus and they are off the wage bill. There's no pleasing some!

Interesting.

Interesting.,,michael.kenrick@gmail.com ,1,15:44:27,,2.124.201.239,ok,19546,06/22/2018 15:44:27,debyrne,reader,, 927182,36823,toffeeweb,22/06/2018,Simon Smith,Stamfordtoffee27@gmail.com,"Bill,

I'm guessing that was Italia 90? Furthest I've got to was quarterfinals. Certainly didn't fancy going to Russia though.

Anyway, guys, I don't want to argue, I'm just enjoying this World Cup. Really hope that Pickford can come home with his head held high.

Through the summer, we will see the real work as a whole, instead of isolating this and addressing it on its own. Looking forward to any signing now; hopefully it will quicken the transfer dealings we need to do.

We are in the middle of the World Cup and, whilst we may not be buying players who are in it, the competition has a knock-on effect of stagnating the whole global transfer market.

Cheer up – you may be wrong!

They'll have a plan and we have to place our trust in them.

Funes Mori wasn't assured enough for me and was an accident waiting to happen too often. Good with his head but distinctly average with his feet. He lacked a cool temperament (at times) and was not a leader on the pitch.

If we got half the reported fee I'd be made up.

Good luck to the lad.

And even better luck to those doing the wheeling and dealing.

If we can sort out a swap for Besic (who've I've wanted off the books for years – can't believe we've had him for 4 years already) and keep the fee relatively low I think that would be great business. He's 25 with over 200 odd games under his belt so we'd be getting him just as he's getting into his prime.

Young, experienced centre-back who's English, left-footed and decent. He may not be the best centre-back in the world but he'd be a solid addition to the first team and better than most of the centre-backs we currently have.

Ideally we'd sign 2 CBs as we need to get rid of Williams as well and Jags is almost 36 so shouldn't really be playing many games. We really only have Keane as a ready made centre-back now and he had a poor season last year.

Hopefully the new management can sort it out.

Jagielka has been terrific for us but his one short-coming is lack of height. If he was 1.88 m or 6'-2" or more he would have been a world beater.

Although Keane has that height I remain sceptical as to whether he is a good enough centre back.

In the old-fashioned way of thinking if you wanted a good team the three key positions were goalkeeper, centre-half and centre-forward.

My view is that we only have one, possibly two, of those positions covered in Pickford and Tosun.

Although a self-confessed dunce when it comes to tactics, I am adamant that if you have a top class centre-back pairing you are half way there towards having a very good football team. Those two positions form the heart (as opposed to engine room) of the team.

Just imagine putting a combination of Niklas Sule and Alfie Mawson or Matthijs De Light in the centre of our defence. Even with the players in the current squad, everything starts to look better.

When I read that Everton have signed at least one of these types of centre-back, I will breathe a sigh of relief for the coming season. Until then it's bated breath but I remain optimistic.

Martinez did the same with Duffy who is a workhorse at Brighton. We could have done with some of his drive and aggression last season. Hopefully there is a plan in the pipeline otherwise I will get the same feeling as I had at the start of last season.

Need two centre-halves, one footballer and one dominant and aggressive who is good in the air. We also need a creative midfielder who pass the ball successfully and has the engine to work box-to-box to link play quickly. And this is not just this season. But has been glaringly obvious for many seasons now and yet still remains unresolved despite numerous managers. I live and hope that this time it will be different but the sale of Funes Mori does not bode well for me.

The target identification is however done in conjunction and agreement with the first team coach, otherwise the system is unworkable.

I am convinced that Silva has known he was coming to us since January, when he was dismissed by Watford.

If that is the case and if he has anything about him as a coach / manager (which I am sure he does from all the accounts I have read), he will have been preparing his plans and his strategy since January.

He will have watched all of our games and many others and will be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our players and of potential targets.

Consequently, if he and Brands have agreed and decided that Funes Mori can go it will be because they believe they have identified a better option who is either definitely prepared to come to the club, or is already here.

The Funes Mori deal passed well under the radar and I don't see Everton's name being bandied about in the BBC "Gossip" column much nowadays - so, whatever we are doing it is being done quietly and discreetly.

Hopefully, as I said earlier this is the new "Everton Way".

Time will tell, whether at the start of next season we have bought in one or more centre backs, or have promoted from within (Holgate, Pennington et al), but one thing I am sure of, Brands and Silva have a plan and are starting to put it together.

For this process to progress quickly, she has temporarily moved her work base to Finch Farm. No mention of Chairman's involvement any longer though!

Simply terminate Williams's and Jagielka's contracts, and try to offload Martina, Galloway, Browning, Besic, Schneiderlin, Davies & McCarthy, thinking of defensive mids as... defense here; and that is why I would probably keep Keane, as our defense was exposed completely by our defensive midfield, and if I could cut everyone, I would cut Gueye as well.

No need to thank me, Marco.

Players at this level earn a lot of money, so I don't feel sorry for these so-called loyal servant-type of players. Throughout the season, the defense was left exposed by our defensive midfield, so if we want to improve they have to be cut as well.

Players like Schneiderlin, Davies, Besic or McCarthy (I know the last two didn't play much) simply have to go. I also blame Gueye who I think was to blame for most of it, but I'm trying not to cut everyone on the current staff.
Nil satis nisi optimum?

He woke up the crowd who booed him when he came on with a few crunching tackles against Man Utd. So I for one see him as a key component of our team.

I'm confident Brands and Silva won't allow the squad to be compromised to the point we'll be improvising players for the first game.

But who knows?

Williams has been told he can go too (and apparently Schneiderlein) and I think Martina, Mirallas, Bolasie, Ramirez and Rooney (especially IF he's demanding to start every match) should probably be on their way also.

I'd keep Jags as cover primarily getting a new starting centre-back and look to a starting line and get a decent backup or challenger for Baines (although Leighton has another season in him I think) and go with a starting line up as below (before further summer improvements) with the youth given a chance from the bench.

Pickford
Baines - New CB - Keane - Coleman
Gueye - Davies
Sigurdsson
Walcott - Tosun - Lookman

Subs:
Stekelenburg Kenny, Jagielka, Baningime, Dowell, Klaassen or Vlasic, Niasse.

Jagielka, Williams, Browning, Pennington, Galloway, etc are not good enough. Keane may recover his form given the right guidance. Duffy makes it back to the Premier League but he is average at best. We should aim at world class players not fringe or average players.

We need at least 2 more world class CBs. I know I am dreaming but let's get Koulibaly and Zapata to go with Keane and Holgate for the upcoming season.