Report: Kenny would favour a further year in Germany

But when we return, all our promising youngsters should be here. A solid, high-morale unit. Ready to step up and ready to play.

I'm Welsh and I love these guys when they play for Wales - but I sincerely hope this isn't true as they are not what Everton needs right now.

With regard to Kenny, Brands and Ancelotti will decide if it's right for him to stay in Germany for a further year, or come home.

We, as fans, have to believe that, whatever they decide, it is the right course, at the right time.

Otherwise, we are, once again, a rudderless ship.

As for Kenny, if he's good enough for the first team, Carlo will want him back. If not, then he may well get a contract extension or be sold.

He works hard and puts some decent crosses in though his overall pass completion of 74% suggests he can be quite profligate with the ball (Coleman and Sidibé have around 78-79%). His tackling is about average (similar number to Coleman but much less than the more aggressive Sidibé) and he gets dribbled past more than Coleman and less than Sidibé. He rarely beats a man himself.

In all honesty, I don't think any of these right-backs are good enough for a team with Champions League aspirations.

Sidibé is good on the ball but, despite his high number of tackles, is caught out of position too frequently and is dribbled past a lot.

Coleman is mostly solid but has lost a bit of his dynamism, as shown by recording just one assist and no goals this season.

Kenny is solid but not spectacular in any field. He's not the quickest or best with the ball and though his crossing is decent would not provide enough in a system that expects width and creativity from full backs.

I think we need better. Though I don't think that will be rectified this summer as there are other priorities. Unless Schalke make a good offer for Kenny, in which case, perhaps we can use that money towards someone like Aarons; Dest, Maehle, Atal and Aina all look like interesting, dynamic options.

Matty Cash could be cheaper and has been one of the best right-backs in the Championship this year. Jeremie Frimpong at Celtic also looks an interesting prospect; absolutely rapid and although he's not played a lot of games he could be one to get early before his price rises.

Have you seen the date?

IMO he needs time to develop. He might well turn out to be a star right-back but he's looked not quite that good to date. Another year will give him a chance for further development and, in this currently disturbing environment, why would he want to change back?

Maybe next season, young homegrown players up and down the land will get a better opportunity. It's possibly the end of the mega-bucks transfer?

Bale and Ramsey are in the wrong age group for big money. We have caught a cold several times with players of this age.

I got the impression a decision had already been taken regarding Kenny. He was sent to the German League to try to impress. In the circumstances, Everton might be glad that Schalke allegedly want him for another year.

Your assessment of both Coleman and Sidibé is interesting and is reflected in their play. What Everton will do regarding Sidibé at the end of this season was already up in the air, and is further up in the air now. The weakness of getting caught out of position is a big one. There was an article on ToffeeWeb highlighting deficiencies of the depth available in defence which was right. But there are also deficiencies in midfield and attack.

It could be another season, Sam, of analysing deficiencies and complaining about deadwood. Maybe there are some prospects in the Academy. It is my opinion that Ancelotti is establishing more control in this area, for a reason.

I have been researching Finch Farm and because I am not local have had difficulty getting beyond what seems a reasonable structure. The problem is that names kept cropping up that are not on the official structure and an old player network that seems to have influence.

The recent belated announcement of Ancelotti's backroom team and structure points to an attempt by Ancelotti to establish control. The overall impression is that Everton did have an extensive structure pre-Ancelotti. . . it may even be said, built on remnants of the School of Science. The problem appears to be that an overall objective was lost in its extensiveness. Ancelotti appears to be trying to address this.

I need Steve Ferns to proofread my draft.

With regards Jonjoe Kenny, I understand the stats and can see his limitations. I think he can and will improve on them. What I like about Jonjoe is his infectious enthusiasm and desire. It rouses the crowd and his teammates. I think Jonjoe offers something on top of the stats and he needs to be given a big chance to make the right-back slot his own. With Seamus serving one more season as backup.

Are you okay, Steve??

Good luck to the lad and his career, wherever it takes him.

The headline makes a very bold statement, and the report, lifted from Bild, goes on to point out that there are no direct quotes from Kenny stating the same.

Even the quote from Schalke's sporting director stops well short of supporting the headline.

At the age Kenny is, he needs to be back at Everton next season competing for a 1st-team place, or sold.

He has been a 1st-team pick all season in one of Europe's most competitive leagues. He has clearly embraced the opportunity and adapted well.

Further evidence of this is he features as the latest Everton player put up to offer a language lesson, in German. Plenty of our overseas players still haven't gone beyond very basic English, so praise to him:

Link

A very decent German pronunciation, I thought.

A player's worth and wages could be slashed dramatically, especially when some clubs could be financially compromised. We are entering uncharted waters.

The one thing with Kenny that doesn't come through in the stats is his winning attitude. He's limited but then so was Phil Neville and I'd have him back in this squad.

Aarons in particular would be a good fit for us but I like the idea of giving Kenny a season to develop as our first-choice right-back. Saves us money which we more desperately need to spend elsewhere.

I always thought Holgate and Calvert-Lewin had the raw materials. Not quite so convinced by Kenny (too slow for my liking!) but hope he proves me wrong.

It probably is essential now that you can fit full-back, wing-back and winger though as a modern Number 2. Tommy Wright was pretty perfect at his best?

With that in mind, will suit Everton, so expect more players to come in and if the stadium gets the go ahead, will add even more weight to the transfer kitty, with the sponsorships.

More players will be out of contract next season as well to offload.

In the meantime, we need to stay focused, hopefully we will find out a solution to the Coronavirus and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Young English talent like Aarons will still be at a premium I expect - but unlikely links to Ramsey, Bale and half the Napoli squad may not be wide of the mark. Bit dubious about the two welsh lads due to age, injury record and possibly lack of motivation. They're decent players though!

Kanye West
Steve Wright (DJ)
Brian Wilson
Peter Gabriel
Simon LeBon (Poetic License)
Anita Harris
Ronnie Scott
Mike Trebilcock (Composer- Harvest Of Horrors)
Paul Young
Alex Harvey
Shirley Temple

Far too much time on our hands.

Maybe unintentionally I have started a new fish puns style theme. Would be interesting to see 'substitutes' for some of the great players and some of the not so great too we have had grace or disgrace the turf at Goodison.

At his age, Seamus was our starter, a contributing one.