Isco tempted to join 'close friend' James at Everton

Si, por favor!

Take him everyday. He's an upgrade on gomes and sigi. A winger and a back up striker and we're laughing.

Can't see this one happening.

Estoy aprendiendo Espanol puedo digo "me gusta helados y soy muy guapo" ahora puedo digo "bienvenidos Isco".

Gracias estoy aqui todo semana

Caught on camera this week in the stands right before the Clasico, criticizing Zidane for leaving him out, so that's it for his career there.

Like James, Isco is a world-class talent who has gone adrift at RM... just 4 goals and 4 assists in his last 50 appearances, half of them off the bench. A chancier proposition than James because of his perceived laziness -- when he loses the ball, he doesn't go get it back.

But if Carlo can get him back up to speed as he has James -- oh, baby, look out. This guy has GIFTS.

Barry @ 4, sounds Greek to me, I lost the gist after the underpants and the nun bit! :-)

Seriously, this could be great news for us but allegedly on silly money, could be a bit of a stumbling stumbling block. Don't like the idea of his ' laziness ' as Mike G suggests, what with James not tracking back, this guy could seriously improve us when in the mood, but seriously hinder us when he's not.

Marcel hopefully can come up with a solution.

Yes please. The upgrade required to replace Sigurdsson. Lets just remember James Rodriguez to Everton when first mentioned last December?? Not a chance that would happen.

Barry@4 ¿eres realmente tan guapo? Se requiere evidencia fotogràfica, por favor. But what a maldito signing this would be!!

Victor

No creas todo lo que lees, jaja

Be truly amazing if another maestro follows James you can never have enough real footballers in a squad

Barry whats is funny people said the same thing when we signed Siggy.

I can see his happening, although his wages are high that we would have to pay, I could see Everton freeing up £120k a week, in wages in allowing Bernard to move in the next window.

I don't think this guy is as good as Rodriguez. And I also don't think we could play both of them in the same team in the PL.

I guess a loan is low risk but I expect most of our signings moving forwards to be in Brands' 22-26 years old range.

We need some dynamism out wide to cover for and complement Richarlison. Really like Kreppin Diatta myself, the next Mane.

If we keep buying has beens like Rodriguez then that's fine by me

Bill

Thing is the arrival of James meant we could drop siggy better quality means improved options. Poor squad quality has been our Achilles since Adam was a lad

Sam
there's nobody around who is as good as Rodriguez, he laid on four gilt edged chances against the champions with a battered ball.

Sam@12 with Allan and Decoure in the middle there is plenty of room for a player like Isco. Richarlison is full of energy & tracks back on the left so why not simply replace Gomes with Isco for a stronger attacking lineup? The opposition wouldn't know where & how to defend against such an array of talent. And at 28 he's in his prime.

Isco to me is a bit like Jodi Morris. When Chelsea were loading up on stars, Morris got the odd run out seemed good. The expectation was that he'd become a regular but as time went on he turned out to be a pile of shit.

Why didn't we even try to sign Jota when everyone knew how a good player he was!? Isco? Not sure about another old(ish) addition.

An oldish pile of shit!! think you better give this one a miss Carlo.

Sam, I disagree. Isco may be a wide #10 like James, but they don't play the same game. Isco attacks off the dribble more than James, plays the short tight passes more, and is comfortable on the opposite side. Carlo has compared him to Zidane, and his nickname in the RM dressing room was "Magic". No, he's not as good as James, but he's twice as good as Gomes' wildest dreams, and as Victor says he would bring a whole new realm of attacking options for Prem defenses to deal with. I'd love to have him in the lineup for the Barcodes.

Peter's got it right -- this brand of "oldish pile of shit" works for me.

Bill, nobody sober ever called Siggy a "maestro" even when we were negotiating for him.

Oldish? He is 28, in his prime, on a loan where his parent company will pay the bulk of his wages and chance at permanent transfer next season at 18million???

Several Champions League and La Liga titles, compared with what? 24 year old shit show in Iwobi or 31 year old Sigurdsson whose never had it.

How on earth is this not a great opportunity for us if this is true? This bloke everyday of the week please.

We had the 'older player' debate in the summer about James and Allan. We have a large part of our first team squad in the 20-26 year old age range already and the benefits of bringing a few experienced players in has been shown.

Isco would be a good addition to the squad and might finally persuade Sigurddson to leave.

Not getting a game -Tick
Current club trying to offload him - Tick
No mad scramble from elsewhere to sign him - Tick
No other chairman prepared to meet Madrids demands - Tick
Very few clubs able to afford his wages - Tick

Like the other Spanish giant. Madrid are seeing Everton as a ready made recycling plant. The only club who will pay top dollar to take the players they no longer want....And we still have people talking about "Carlo's pulling power"....Sigh

Romantic naivety and sycophancy have long since replaced hard logic and reality at this club. I knew I should have one straight to the match day thread.

A talented player, but he should only be brought in if he is prepared to take a massive pay cut.

Mike@20 but Gomes is currently playing as a box to box player. I have severe doubts about Gomes as you know and especially his defensive contributions but he's like a prime Roy Keane compared to Isco.

As I see it Isco can only really play the number 10 role, which we don't really use and where we already have our most expensive player ever. If we could sell Sigurdsson then perhaps a loan for Isco makes sense but otherwise we have other priorities such as a dynamic right back, another fast, goal scoring winger or possibly a box to box Gomes upgrade.

Hmm. I have a little thought going through my head, that Carlo has a 3-year time line by which he wants to win a trophy, qualify for Europe, and challenge for the title. To do that he is focusing not so much on the medium or long term buys or solutions, but those that will fulfill the 3-year plan.
With that in mind, it makes sense to buy hi-quality but possibly short life span players with a few good seasons in them. He is not bothered about cost but getting the best he can for NOW.
Those with no prospects are shown the door, Walcott etc, and younger players like Gordon will find it hard to get game time because results are everything in the short term. If we do get the odd younger model with the required skill sets Brilliant! but I think it will be few and far between. Carlo believes in his ability to get the best out of players he knows, the question then springs to mind what happensafter three years?

All. Day. 🤞🏻

At his best he is a real talent and there will be lots of interested teams.
No one knows him like Carlo as he was his first signing when at Real.
If Carlo wants to reunite and the player is interested then it will happen and will be another coup for us.

No thanks, he is what a progressive EPL side doesn't want in this day and age. RM want to offload his massive wages and laziness, do we really want to take it given our past buying performance?

Good shout on Krepin Diatta Sam! We really need an RM.

Barry (4). gracias. yo también estoy fingiendo hablar español. Everton espera a Isco

A talented player, no doubt, I think he would be worthy of consideration with caveats. Move on Iwobi, Sigurdsson, Bernard, Bolaise, Besic . and bring Isco in instead of that lot.

We have an abundance of attacking midfielders/no10s who just cannot produce the goods when it matters, we need to trim those five and replace with one good one !

Sam talks about Diatta as being the next Mane. We really have to consider the ‘type' of player we buy. Do we want a player in the ‘Mane' mold or another player in the ‘James' mold.

We suffer more than anything when Richarlison is out so I would argue we need a player more in the ‘Richie' or ‘Mane' mold. Diatta (taking Sam's word for this one), Ismailia Sarr ?

This should be the priority over the Isco signing.

Darren i'll happily take being madrid and barcas B team right now. Digne and James are absolute gems with mina and gomes being steady.

A lot on here didn't fancy James but reality is Isco is a top class player and takes us up another level.

I'm happy we've changed our transfer policy to bringing in instant quality now. Get higher up the league then focus on bringing in top young potential.

With Allan and Doucoure doing defensive work our number 10 shouldn't have to do as much. Isco can carry the ball well which is what we need in the centre of the park and is our biggest flaw when Richarlison isn't available.

The more quality players we bring in the more top young ones will want to join.

On a side note lets get back to winning ways today! Coyb!

Andrew 30

Gracias, como un scouser un día voy a dominaré inglés, jaja

Just a comment on the vast amount of money these primadonnas are earning. At the current state pension rates, it would take a pensioner around 12 years to earn 100k. Some of ours are earning that a week.

So let's see some effort.

This is exactly what we need, another player without a defined position who would be best as a number ten.
He will join James,Siggy,Bernard,Iwobi and Gordon who all see themselves playing there.

Perhaps the idea is that we are trying to get two teams in training. One will be called 'the number tens' and the other will be 'second man midfielders'. Meanwhile we haven't got a winger or a striker at the club and very little pace or speed to call upon. Except in traditional Everton fashion with an unregistered player.

Can anyone send me a link to the English version of ToffeeWeb. I seem to be on the Spanish site for some reason.

Kieran '17'
Comparing Isco to Jodi Morris is baffling. There is a universe between their two levels of talent. Remember when James was being linked to us at first. A lot of 'experts' were saying that he wasn't a team player, he only played when he wanted, he wouldn't track back to defend. If you watch our matches, James is quite often seen in our box defending, and I've seen him make a couple of telling tackles defending. It's all well and good having spotlights and tail fins on the car of the dreams, but if the chassis and the engine are no good, it's not much good. Carlo is still giving the youth a shot, Gordon, Branthwaite, Nkounkou, Godfrey, and Simms is training regularly with the first team along with several other U23's. Trust in Carlo, I haven't seen him let us down yet!?

Darren nobody wants to buy people on ludicrous wages. Every signing must want to play for Everton and that means wage drop compared to his wages at Madrid (just like Rodriguez had to).

Dismissing players because not a mad scramble by champions league clubs is not a good idea (ie Rodriguez would not be here who is unbelievable!)

Nevermind the ins & outs of his wages - Isco is mustard, and in his prime at 28. This is a total no-brainer if he's available and into coming to Everton.

He's been well coached, will be a good pro having been at Madrid for 7 years and is another world name. He doesn't track back a great deal, but the positives far outweigh that particular negative for me.

John @ 37, I am still also reeling from the comparison of Isco and Jodi Morris.

Anyway, that aside, Isco is a terrific footballer. He could replace the anonymous Gomes in the 433 we have (roughly) adopted this season.

Ideally, I'd go for players on the up like Hlozek, Ihatteren and Szoboszlai. But it's nice to be in a position where I'd settle for Isco.

As you say, Sam, we could also do with a bit of dynamism too with the likes of Diatta and Sarr. A back up striker would be good, too.

But I don't expect we'll fix all (or perhaps any) of these problems in January. It's more of a job for next summer - along with (let's be honest) possibly finding a replacement for the brilliant Richarlison.

Isco, when he feels like it, is a brilliant, creative player. I'd take him over both Gomes and Siggi. As for accepting Real Madrid castoffs, I'd swap Iwobi for one of their corner flag given the choice

Today highlighted that another ‘technical' player is not what we need. We need wide players who can stretch play, beat a man and score a goal or two. Another Richarlison would be ideal!

Sam [42]. Another Richarlison... we can't even get the one we've got on to the pitch!

All I hear about these days is a player's inability to track back.Alex Young,Fred Pickering,Bob Latchford,Jimmy Husband,Andre Kanchelskis ect, all didn't track back ! You hava a back four and a couple of ball winners in the middle of the park that should be enough.For fuck sake Manet and Sala don't track back for the red shite as the couple of doggers in the midfield Henderson and Milner when he plays does that for them.
To turn around and say you wouldn't sign a player of Isco's quality because he doesn't track back is pathetic.No wander we are shite.Duncan McKenzie,Duncan you were shite lad,not enough tracking back for toffewebbers !

John Cook - Manet is an absolute artist with the ball.

You could bet Monet on that!

We should sign them up in January, they've been making a good impression in France.

Manet on the left, Monet on the right and Dominic Calvert-Lautrec through the middle.

Colin Glassar - Class comment my friend. Nearly choked on my tea. Thanks for the laugh. After that performance I've felt like the guy who found a tenner only to find out his bank account had been cleaned out by scammers.

Yes Jason @21 the best part of 80m on them pair of jokers as well. Plus I would like to see Carlo in charge of all transfers and get Brands out the door with the other shite who have come through it with him around. Siggy was on Koemans shit list, but I don't know what Brands offers as for Isco yes please its nice to even have a chance for genuine talent and they wouldn't be coming for Brands imo.

Robert & Chris I could blame bloody predictive text but I'm claiming artistic licence...piss takers !😁

John, a mistake easely made.

Sorry for the

cheap joke John. It's not much fun on Toffeweb at the moment. Might as well use an opportunity when it presents itself.

Robert, my #51 was a weak pun, not having a pop at you.

Sorry John,

You could always brush it off if you find it unpallettable!

Hmm, I passed up on the opportunity to watch Isco's Zizou impression the other day. I think I'll have a look now.

Might just do that Chris,never been one to play to the gallery.

Strange but true, a Mane and a Manet would probably set you back about the same amount of Monet.

£50-100m ?

Tony #57. True but one of them would keep falling to the ground.

Though all three might conceivably be well hung.

Mane and Salah may not track back (or do they?) but they are both rapid and do a hell of a lot of work closing down and harrying defenders and goalies. No way are the defensive duties just left to a couple of stereotypical cloggers.
Not saying I wouldn't mind Isco, but I'd agree that the squad is more desperate for more pace allied to genuine ability at the moment, so getting Isco would have to be balanced against other targets that could get wiped out.
28 is potentially getting to the wind-down after the absolute peak and how many top years you'd get from Isco will be heavily influenced by his attitude, injury history and ability to compensate for the effects of general wear and tear

My first comment disappeared but went..

Cisco yyeess!! Quality, presumably isn't inured, maintains speed, fitness and takes a pay cut.

28 not old, nearer reserve age than retirement. Certainly peak years with the right motivation from Carlo. Not a James or Ricy but better than the rest in a wide forward role.

If this continues to be the kind of player we recruit, next season promises to be even better. Until then we need to develop with game time (whilst injuries and suspensions dictate) our young players ie Gordon and Davies.

Iwobi, Siggy, Tosun are not the answer, they don't even know the question. Impact subs maybe, but I'd rather have Bolasie on the pitch.

God almighty, here we go with the "over the hill at 28" mob again. Un-fuckin-believable.

He's the kind of player we need a lot more of. He's a footballer.

Some scouser humour Dad jokes coming through, eh! My "kids" (getting on a bit now) will love this An Aach! dad moment for them but I love it!

Umm, has no one done a Google news search on Isco. Only last week he was getting slated by Madrid fans (overentitled and largely ignorant, I know) for being overweight. Photos didn't look great.

Dan@64; I saw the same photos and you're right, they didn't look great. He looked positively porky...we need more pace not less.

I don't want us to pay half of his £230,000 a 'king week to bring him on loan just so he can get fit on our dime then the loan runs out.
Injury not withstanding, Gomes looked good on loan. Bernard look excellent when he first came and keen to impress...they all do...mostly.

I love beautiful footballers as much as the next guy but sometimes you need players to just do a job, your Sandy Browns, your Alan Harpers.

Who is he going to replace? Where does he fit in. James hit the ground running and he didn't look like he'd been stuffing his face during a 3mth lock down.

Can he play up front. Can he play right back...Throw £115,000 a week at a loan position we really need cover in.

Christine 25. - What happens next? He probably gets another five years to win the Champions League?

JC 44. - Tracking back? The whole club has been tracking back since the 80's what we want is to change t(r)ack and start the tracking forward. If you know your history, and all that - let's work for the future. This club is living on its history - we are all tracking back even JC @44 is tracking back with his player examples. Onward - track forward amigos.

I can't recall Brands making many January signings since he's been here. Branthwaite came in last January. Any others? Whatever the case, I can't see us spending any money.

A fit Isco would be good. But not a fat one.

What we really need is:

- a dynamic presence in midfield to supplement Allan and Doucoure (probably one for next summer - Cantwell perhaps)

- a dynamic right back as heir to Coleman (another for next summer - Aarons perhaps, to complete the Norwich connection)

- cover for DCL (might get something in January - a loan most likely - and always tricky to get someone decent to play second fiddle. Maybe Maupay if he completely alienates himself at Brighton?)

- cover for Richarlison (hopefully Gordon can make this role his own - otherwise something random and underwhelming on loan - like Rabbi Matondo)

As ever, when reality hits, we always start looking to the next transfer window. Could be quite a turnover of players summer 2021. Just hope we can hang onto Richarlison for one more year.

Like Christine at 25, I too have had a thought, it's regarding the need to track back. How would it be it we played Jordan and this new fella in goal together and take away one midfielder. Sounds good?

Robert, Fully agree with the priorities there.

Dynamic midfielder, not sure about Cantwell, a bit lightweight Tom Davis +. But could improve further. Buendia is a very tidy and feisty footballer who could be a very useful addition, he does play across the midfield, including centrally, creates chances and is a forward thinking player.

Cover for Richie, Gordon is a proper footballer with improvement in him, he can make this role his own and if he performs it will save us a fortune too.

Cover for DCL. Cenk for this season. We are strictly talking cover here, so someone like Giroud, Ings or that type of age/quality could do a worthy support role and rescue points or grab winners late on.

Right back Seamus has confounded his critics and has been not at his prime best, but really good still. However he is not getting any younger, picking up injuries, and this slot needs attention. Aarons for me too, but there may be good options that Brands has got his eye on for a lot less money. This Emmerson lad sounds like a good prospect.

Derek@65, yes exactly. Isco is a talented footballer but not what we need. Surely our fans have learnt after the Rooney/Klaassen/siggurdsson summer that its not about buying loads of technically gifted number 10's but about building a team!

as Robert@68 points out we need a dynamic right back and a more dynamic central midfielder (ideally one who can create and score) alongside Allan and Doucoure. I know he was poor at Bayern (and Swansea) but Renato Sanches has looked very decent for the last season or two in France and I still like Buendia at Norwich.

Derek and Sam, I'm sure Carlo will run the rule over Isco -- including his waistline -- and make the call.

But to me, what our club still lacks the most is talent. Pure creative genius. When James and Richi are out, we have none of it, and that's the gap between us and clubs like the RS and Chelsea and City -- they have layers of talent, on the pitch and off the bench, that they can mix with their hardworking tradesmen.

We have plenty of artisans. We remain desperately short of artists. Isco or somebody like him is a higher priority for me than a new right back, although if we could find a real attacking force there I'm all for it.

Mike, Talent is essential but it has to be complimented by some athleticism, mobility and a willingness to attack (and defend) with thrusting pace and determination..

When I think of a real strong midfield I can't help to look at Chelsea. They have a real energy, dynamism and tenacity about their midfield, goals, pace and skill as well. I am a bit jealous.

Mount, Kante, Pulisic, Kovacic, Jorginho, Havertz all players who will be at you relentlessly for 90 minutes. Chelsea pay massive attention to their midfield strength and it keeps them ticking along in the top 4 and challengers for everything.

Whilst Isco is a real talent, does he give us the energy, dynamism and mobility that we are crying out for? I have to agree with Sam above, with already having James, Isco is not top priority.

Danny ings as cover for Calvert-Lewin? Seriously think he'd consider that? More clueless nonsense

JC @44 I bet you a pound to a penny that the two red shite you mention definitely track back but, first and foremost, they defend from the front and don't give your back four an ounce of time. Fitness is key in football these days and getting our attacking players chasing everything down is first thing Carlo needs to address

Bobby @ 75, true fitness is a major factor these days (although being classed as asthmatic, and having performance enhancing inhalers helps too) but apart from the tracking back debate.

I have noticed in the games where we have been over-run and outplayed there is a common theme, we have afforded far too much space to the opposition in all cases. We have failed to close them down when they have possession.

The games we have done well in, we have enjoyed the lion's share of possession, passed accurately and swiftly, and it does work, let your opponents chase you. let them tire themselves out chasing shadows.

Right! Have you got Finch Farm or Carlo's Number? 😜

We need a replacement for Richarlison. He'll be gone after the summer, and his dynamism is a huge miss when he doesn't play. In fact I can't see wins without him.

Saturday highlighted you can only have so many passengers in your team without the ball. We can cover James, but Bernard, Sigurdsson, and Gomes is a step too far in a starting XI.

Bobby,

I couldn't agree with you more. Defending does start from the front; however, when you have just one forward, ie, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, running his bollocks off up front, you surely can't expect him to also track back.

I agree that fitness is the key but, whatever they do at Finch Farm, they certainly don't look fit compared to most Premier League teams. I have said before, they are too sheltered in these state-of-the-art training facilities. Get them road running and running up and down sand dunes to harden them up.

I remember a midweek game against Man City under Moyes when it was a fuckin' real bitter cold night. City came out wearing gloves, balaclava, all the works. Everton for the most part wore short sleeves. I remember Cahill going into Teves from the off.

We won that night and the headlines the next day were something like "Everton 2 Snoods 1". All about fitness, heart and winning personal battles all over the pitch for me.

I expect this to happen; so will Carlo.

For the fee, if to be believed it is correct, Marcel could be pulling off another coup as per the Rodriquez deal.

Seems like this rumour isn't going away. Interesting. Personally I think the money is best spent elsewhere.

Tony Everan completely agree with your Buendia shout, I really like him and he works as hard as Richy, doesn't score many but creates and tracks, still young too. The goals could come from and even freer James (playing as a 10), Richy and DCL. We simply MUST bring in competition for RB, someone hardworking who can bomb on too. I would be looking to get money for Siggi and Bernard in Jan, sign an RM and an RB.

The Spanish Jack Wilshire. We're everybody's fools.

Mike (81) I'm not sure where, or how, you're making that comparison.

Isco has had one major muscle injury that kept him out for just over a month in August last year. He's not injury prone by any means. Just hasn't had much of a chance in a talented Madrid squad.

https://www.transfermarkt.com/isco/verletzungen/spieler/85288

Compare that to the injury history of Jack 'Wheelchair' (2 pages) and you'll see how ridiculous that comparison is...

https://www.transfermarkt.com/jack-wilshere/verletzungen/spieler/74223

I could handle getting Isco on loan; I could not handle spending £20m+ on him!

He's a decent player of course but I just really don't think he's what we need. He's another number 10 with good technical skills but little work rate and no defensive contribution. He's also pretty slow.

He doesn't add alot of goals with 1 in every 5.7 games throughout his career. Our current slow number 10 (Sigurdsson) has 1 goal every 4.6 games, despite playing in worse teams. Their assist numbers are very similar.

Perhaps if we didn't already have Siggurddson and Rodriguez it may make some sense but we do.

It's not about getting good players it's about having a good team! And I really don't see where he fits in. By all means loan him and give it a shot but lets not land ourselves with another overpaid, slow number 10 on a long contract who we then cannot sell.

Sam, the Isco I saw a bit of was far from slow. Not sure if he's suddenly lost a lot of pace. I don't doubt your judgement, I doubted my own, so I went back and watched a few clips on YouTube, and again, he is far from slow. Sure, he ain't going to leave Calvert-Lewin, Godfrey or Richarlison standing in a footrace, but he's certainly a lot faster than Gomes and the player you suspect he's to replace, Sigurdsson.

Isco used to play on the wing quite a bit. But didn't he play deeper under Carlo Ancelotti? If Carlo keeps faith with the 433 that worked well in our 4 wins, then he could take the place of Gomes / Sigurdsson in the deep playmaker role. You are right to doubt his work rate, and I doubt he will cover as many yards as Sigurdsson, but does he need to? Sigurdsson covers a lot of yards by chasing back after he is out of position. They are ineffective and unnecessary. If he was smarter, he wouldn't need to do them.

I'm not sure about the 2020 version of Isco. Like James Rodriguez, no one has seen much of him in 2020. But like James Rodriguez, it would be the last throw of the dice for an aging player. At 28, he is far from finished and could recover his form. Playing for a club that would value him, and a manager he knows and loves. If Carlo Ancelotti thinks he's could enough, then I would bet on the 4 time champions league winner having enough left in the tank to be effective. As for a loan, I'd be terrified he did well for us and ended up at Man Utd or somewhere. I'd only loan if there was an obligation to buy at the end of the season, effectively pushing the transfer fee to next season for FFP purposes.

Steve, he's definitely not Gomes or Sigurdsson slow. But that's a low bar! I don't think he's quick enough to play as a winger in the Premier League; unless its as an inverted winger like Rodriguez (which we already have Rodrguez, Iwobi and Bernard doing).

You're right, he'd probably play in the Gomes / Sigurdsson role in the midfield 3 but I'm just not sure he has the work rate or physicality to succeed there. Against good teams you need ever one of those midfield 3 (and probably everyone else) to be busting a gut; and we already have Rodriguez who is a little dubious defensively.

Perhaps Isco would be useful against the deeper sitting, more limited teams. He's got great skill and quick feet that allow him to get out of tight spots and open up space, but what I've seen of him this season and last he just doesn't look as sharp as he used to. Perhaps that's due to not playing as much but he just looks to me like he may have lost a bit of something.

My worry is that, if Ancelotti does not work out, we are left with a bunch of 'star' players in their 30s on huge wages that we cannot sell. But then it does seem like Brands has offered more sensible shorter term contracts so far.

I don't think Man Utd would want Isco as Fernandes is similar but better and younger but I agree that a loan with an option (not obligation) makes sense in case he's able to get back to near his best.

I'd be looking for a different profile though. Either a much faster player who can beat his man and score goals to play wide or another central midfielder who can carry the ball and distribute well whilst also working very hard and making tackles; I actually really like Anguissa at Fulham, so will be interested to see him this weekend.

Let's be honest, without dynamic players on the flanks, Gomes and Sigurdsson are complete passengers. They offer almost nothing.

Isco is much more talented than both, albeit Sigurdsson has (or did have) an excellent goal return when the team is built around his highly specialised position.

Would Isco make a difference without the dynamic presence on the wings? Probably a bit more than Sigurdsson and Gomes, yes (if he's fit). So probably worth a loan.

But the point is really that we need fast and relentless Premier League athletes to create the space for our few artists.

I suspect we won't buy one in January but I could see a random loan of, say, Rabbi Matondo from Schalke or Lemar from Atletico. Someone like that would make a difference, with or without Isco.

Robert,

Lemar is an interesting player. He looked very talented in France but has lost his way it seems in Spain. I hope we can do better than Matondo, who's never shown much to my eyes. I'd like to see Gordon given more opportunities but Ancelotti seems to have gone right off him.

A good goalscoring right-winger still high on the agenda; I still dream of Malcom but the likes of Doku, Diatta, Antony and Chukwueze are probably more gettable. Maybe Real Madrid might loan us Rodrygo instead of Isco!

Hi Sam, the realist in me mentions Matondo and Lemar because not a lot else looks gettable in January. The fact they are gettable tells you all you need to know really.

Matondo is fast but that might be it (Bolasie is probably a better player right now). Lemar is talented but hasn't been a hit. I could see us moving for Lemar on loan in Jan.

The others you mention might be more for this coming summer, although suspect Anthony and Doku will stay at Ajax and Rennes to mature a bit more before big moves.

I see Ancelotti's cried "bullshit" (literally) over our link to Isco.

Saw that myself Brian, seems we are not even looking elsewhere just yet, for any players.

Unless that's Carlo's bluff at work Brian. Makes sense I suppose not to announce what and who we're looking at/for. Just thought it was funny that he actually said "that's, I believe you call it here, bullshit,"

According to some reports tonight, Isco has asked to leave Madrid and they have accepted his request, I've no idea if he's any use to Everton, but I'm sure if Carlo wants him and he's within budget in terms of fee and wages Carlo will be allowed to persue him - providing the player wants to join Everton of course.

A denied rumour of Sami Khedira too.

Everton are completely adrift in midfield. Doucouré is a very poor player in every way. We need a superstar in the creative department.

On this basis, Sigurdson, Mina, Delph, Iwobi, Bernard, Tosun, Davies etc need to go and I believe they all should raise around £80 million.

We as a club need to send a cheque to Aston Villa for £90 million for Grealish now. The best player in the Premier League and someone we desperately need.

Pickford
Coleman Keane Holgate Digne
Allan
Doucouré Grealish
James
Calvert-Lewin Richarlison

Get Isco in and a right winger to mix it up, we have the cover for all these places.

Time for Everton to make a real statement of intent. Grealish is the missing piece.