PSV's Dumfries on Everton's radar

Looks fast, strong, crosses well and scores a few with feet and head. At 25 he might well be a serious contender. Also around 6ft 2ins height.

Aside from having that grub Mino Raiola as his agent, this lad ticks all the boxes for what we need. Can even play further up the field in right midfield. Newcastle had him on their radar not long ago.

Vijay, Newcastle are not a great yardstick. Just last year the Langstaff brothers were worth £30 mil. Maxim whatshischops is a good player when fit though. So many names of players and managers how can we keep up?

Luckily we have a football director who can continue to do what needs to be done. In our case, sign the top class, right sided players we need.

We all know the right sided weaknesses, as do our opponents. So let's buy some top quality players and then get a manager or coach who can get the most out of them.

No rush, get the best we can get.

Mancini for me, (I've wanted him for several years) as I think he can get the best out of our players. It's a good fit, similar style.

Moyes is the benchmark, not the solution.

Someone like Conte or a Mourhino type may help us win silverware, 2 years of rollickings followed by disappointment and another rebuild job. Not my kind of manager as I want stability and I was originally all against managers like that, but.. trophies and winning makes enjoyment a reality.

Hopefully he's better than Cuco Martina

Don't really know anything about him, but Denzel Dumfries is an awesome name.

Our DoF/board-member (and that can happen only at Everton, folks) seems now to be free to identify "up and coming talent", this time in the name of a M'sieu Dumfries, 25 and unsought by anyone outside of Holland.

That said, if he has pace, admires Ben Godfrey, can pass accurately, and at 6'2" can stop a rampaging opponent he's got to be a welcome addition hasn't he?

Bill, haha, you beat me to it!

Shame Brendan Galloway didn’t kick on like we hoped he would otherwise we could have had Dumfries and Galloway lining up for us next season.

What a beautiful placing that would be Andrew

Sell Richarlison, buy Zaha and throw in this lad, and Neto, and our attack is sorted.

Colin@11 - Would rather get Zaha with the Kean money. If there some change for Danjuma there it’s be a bonus. Ideally we keep Richie, but if he pushes he must be replaced with goals. Abrahams and Ings perhaps. Think the Portuguese lads will stay with Wolves. Iwobi out for Loftus-Cheek would be a bonus.

Saha is 29 in November so he would have to come on the cheap.

Hope he is good then!

Justin, I don't think I've heard any player managed by Mancini have anything positive to say about him?

Andrew @9 you made me spill my coffee !! Denzel sounds ideal for us and Brands must know plenty about him.

Don (7) "unsought by anyone outside of Holland". that is what the DoF role is all about - spotting the talent no one else has yet spotted.

The other thing, of course, is that often individua players might not seem inspiring, of themselves, but in the "right" team, with the "right" team mates then the "team" becomes greater than the sum of its parts. That, of course, is also the job of both the DoF and FTC to achieve.

I know nothing of Denzel, but hopefully he will fullfill the role for which he is being targetted and help us build the "team" we all wish to see, at Everton.

In other news, BBC is reporting that Carlo might "raid" Everton for Richarlison.

Denzel’s a Scouser, he was in ‘ Only Fool’s and Horses’ for years, we’ll get some laughs out of him at least, and we can never be short of them.

Loftus cheek for iwobi Like saying swap lingard for Walcott.

Why swap crap for more crap?

One thing we have to agree on though is that whatever comes in has to be better than what we have.

Of all our *new* players, who is actually better than we had? Not difficult but maybe Allan, but really slow, maybe James but really injury probe, ditto mina, doucoure whatismyposition and Godfrey "ill leave balls to go across the box" - watch his England performance.

We just aren't improving so imo, director of football has to go. He's not buying any better than what we have. I mean that was a noyes mantra so what happened to it?

Bringing in a new right back won’t solve the other issues of a badly needed rebuild in midfield.

Carlo wants Richarlison, for me he can have him, but don’t replace him with another falling over sulker in Zaha.

We need leadership from a manager, and that manager, (whoever it may be) should stamp his signature on the squad with his players, not the Brands and the board playing guessing games again.

Madrid don't have the money to pay what we would want for Richarlison. They'd be better off saving 70m to buy haaland next summer when his clause kicks in.

Mr Brands will know all about his capabilities and whether he’d be a success in the PL. That what it is all about isn’t it, can he cut the mustard over here ? There’s other exiting options so if we get him in he must be very highly thought of by our DOF. After Iwobi he needs this next attacking signing to be a successful one.

I'm with a few on here regarding his name, what's in a name (?) Shakepeare said ! Denzel immediately puts only Fools and Horses to the fore, and Dumfries immediately make me think of North of the Border.

Having said that, he certainly fits the bill with his resume, but the big question is can he cut it in the Premiership? There has been a mixture of resounding successes and abject failures with Dutch players and their adaptation to the English Prem. Which category will he fall into should we follow through on this?

Dumfries would definitely improve our right flank. Very good physical attributes, knows how to play in a pass and move team. Probably not too expensive either. He's not as good a footballer as some of the others we've been linked with like Aarons and Emerson - and he's unlikely to interest the Champions League giants. But Matty Cash has done well with similar qualities at Villa, so why not?

With us likely to play 352 (ish) under Santo or Potter, I wondered whether a more likely signing now would be Pedro Porro after a very good season with Sporting Lisbon. He's still on the books at Man City but doesn't seem likely to get a first team spot any time soon. If we could get Goncalves (ex Wolves) too that would give our first team a very different look.

Dumfries was one of the right backs in my transfer piece. From what I’ve seen/read he is a well rounded right back with decent pace and power who, crucially, is very hard working and will get up and down all day long. He’s not a brilliant crosser, dribbler, tackler, passer but is rather decent in all departments. He also seems to pop up with the odd goal (often from set pieces as he is 6ft 2).

If we could get him for around £15m I think it’d be good business. Reminds me a little bit of Sidibe but a bit harder working and slightly better positioning.

Well there's another surprise.
I can understand why Marcel Brands sees something in him.
He of course will be well familiar with the player, from his time in Eindhoven.

He's not unlike our Seamus, in that he is an active player. He loves going forward.
A few times I was surprised to see him flying past the right-winger (Berghuis) in the Dutch national team.

He's the captain of PSV, who have disappointed this season, as a team, with a new German coach (another possible similarity) Roger Schmidt.

Dumfries isn't perfect, some find him defensively vulnerable (like Seamus..), though that's mostly at PSV, in the Dutch national team, he's been mostly more than ok, even when it wasn't going swimmingly.

I guess he'll be cheaper than Aarons.

Thanks for that insight Francis, it concerns me that the defensive vulnerabilities you describe will only be amplified in the Premier League. I would expect we are looking at a good few options for the position and this is just one of them.

Aarons, Aarons, Aarons!

I like the look of this guy - good at getting forward, an eye for goal, fast, young - his highlights reel almost entirely shows him attacking rather than defending. Lord knows what he's actually like when we don't have the ball but imagine him, Richy, Dom and Nkounkou streaking up the pitch on a breakaway!

I just read that his contract is up next year, meaning PSV can't ask the highest price.

I heard Brands wanted Denzel, but Carlo wanted experienced older players, so was in the process of putting a bid in for Ashley Williams, in a new right back role, all hell broke lose with Brands losing it and kicking Carlos brew halfway down the Etihad corridor. This was the final straw of Carlo remaining cool, so he headed straight to the airpot with his final words of, Iwobi will be following me soon to Madrid.

Chinese whispers of course, Rob got the inside no how, of what really happened that fateful Sunday afternoon, but by the time, the Chinese whisper reached me, it had taken a whole new meaning of its own.

If Ancelotti wants Richarlison, he can have him. We can even through in Iwobi, Delph and Holgate as sweetener!

Now that Brands is allowed to do his job, what's the price on picking up Trigger Tobymory and Rodders Renfrew alongside Denzel to complete the summer rebuilding to take us back to the 80's glory days.

Well let’s hope there’s a plan to ge some players in soon.

My Dutch friends rate this lad and we live in hope.

Who will be the new Everton, let’s see.

What if our new Gaffer doesn't rate him and he becomes a defensive version of King,by never getting a game?.

Sign up the Tavenier brothers and that's the right side sorted for next season.

Our record on signing Dutch fellas ain't so great neither!.

I see Fernandinho has been released by Man City. I’d definitely get him in for a season or two. And don’t start with that age crap. Just look at him, Aguero, Ronaldo, Silva, Ibra etc.. still all at the top of their game.

1 year contract for fernandinho with option for a 2nd year depending on appearances would be perfect in my humble opinion

Mads @ 27, You have too many Aarons in the Fire there, me old China. :-)

I see Villa are moving quickly to get Buendia.

Solid transfer strategy over there. Young energetic players who are good on the ball.

It’s quite simple when you break it down.

Villa agreed a £33m fee for Buendia , looks like a done deal. I am jealous, a good buy for them.

Not seen much of Buendia to know if good deal or not. Didn't stand out last time they were in the prem but still only 24.

Agree Colin. With Fernandinho and Allan sitting it would leave James to sit up top behind DCL. Would need bags of pace on the flanks though sith those three in the middle.

Dan,

I will be surprised if we see James in an Everton shirt next season

Why be jealous? Just as possible Villa got robbed, instead of buying well.

Guy scored 24 goals for them in 3 seasons. 1 of those goals in the Prem. One. Might be he's just a first-rate minor leaguer.

I disagree Dan. I thought he stood out a mile last time they were in the prem. Everyone was raving about Cantwell, admittedly a good player, but to me Buendia looked like the guy who had the potential to really shine in a better team. I am jealous. There's no guarantee with players like that, but I'd have loved us to take that gamble. Hard not to feel a bit bleak about our prospects just now... who would come to us?

In his last season in the PL Buendia may not have scored much but was still one of the best creators from open play in the league. He also covers a huge amount of ground and wins a lot of duels. Basically all the stats suggest he’s a very useful player!

If we had spent £30m on him rather than Iwobi or Sigurdsson we’d have a much better squad. I too am jealous of Villa, though given what we have I think we probably need a RW with pace to burn, which is not Buendia’s strong point.

New manager or not we want to see a lot of raised shirts and flashing cameras pronto. Do your job Brands. The new boss will dovetail with the system and ( new ) players we get. Southampton done it for years and maybe still do. Same with Leicester even if they lose a boss.

Funny about Buendia... his statistics are staggering but when I've seen him play he just didn't dazzle me. Flawless passing touch, but slow.

I wonder how much of an impact he'll really make.

Buendia to Villa for only 33m?? Didn't we pay much more than that for a much older bloke from Iceland?

Championship player of the season by a country mile.

Most Norwich supporters rate him higher than Maddison, and all those shouting for Aarons might like to consider that maybe playing behind the best player in the league makes him look better too...

Can't believe Villa are pulling this off... thought he'd only be going to a team with European football - extremely disappointed we are missing out at this price!!!

Thomas #42, beat me to it.

Bue is a good, hard working, creatively player.

But he reminds me of a Siggy rather than a Bruno Fernandes.

At that price I would want more but on the other hand it suggests Villa would rather take a risk on him than keep Barkley. I think "hard work" is a key reason why.

The Director of football is in place so player recruitment and sales should not stop because of a lack of manager. Positions and key strengths should have already been identified so come on Brands, bring on our next star player ASAP!

This is just my made up rumour.

Carlo wants Richarlison in swap deal with Hazard and £15M!

You read it here first!

Reading a report on Brazil's win over Ecuador, it looks like Richi had a good game; including scoring a goal.

Dan 40 sorry pal but that isn't accurate. on the contrary. The stats from the season Norwich got relegated indicated a fantastic player. by the end of Jan that season he was absolutely shredding all other midfielders in the PL not just on key passes and chances created but also tracking recoveries. Ever since I have wanted him in our team and harp on about him constantly. He will become a top player and for £33M I, like Tony, am seriously jealous!

Never really rated Buendia,I still think Cantwell is the better player of the two,I would sign him in a heartbeat.

On one of his typical marauding runs, Denzel Dumfries got floored in the penalty area in the warm-up friendly between the Netherlands and Georgia, in the 9th minute.
Memphis Depay stepped forward, 1-0.

Not following threads as most are full of wishful thinking. What worries me however is clubs are already signing quality players. Our DOF should know by now what we need to improve the team after this past seasons pathetic performances particularly against relegated teams.

I would have expected that he had his wish list all lined up and ready to pounce. But this is Everton and as usual we leave every signing until the last minute and often players nobody else wants. For years we have needed a leader in midfield old style like Keane Vierra, Reid, or a bit more stylish like Arteta, Lampard etc. Someone who believes in our club motto Nil Satis Nisi Optimum. Need to get back our pride with a manager who is committed long term.

Not sure we would make a mistake in Duncan but Nuno doesn't put me off. Not too keen on some journeyman managers will perform just like the current batch of players. Only putting in enough to justify huge salaries.

Neil, it's all a bit daft since none of us have any influence. On your point though, I'm kind of curious why Ferguson is talked up as manager material when Unsworth is not. The latter is surely more qualified isn't he?

Buendia completed to Villa it seems.

What I would give for one midfielder like Grealish or Buendia. Let alone two. If Villa keep both I strongly suspect they will finish above us next year.

Our midfield is so poor at creating from open play (despite fortunes spent on Iwobi, Siggurddson, Bolasie, Gomes, Doucoure, Allan etc). Has to be fixed by Brands this summer.

Maybe this means Kieran Dowell, might be a first choice for Norwich next season?

Sam, I don't even think that's up for debate, certainly if they keep Grealish. We need pace from several new additions and we need a lot more goals to even get top 8. Or goal difference as you know was pitiful.

As a club we have gone backwards since Lukaku left, and that's now 4 years ago.

Tony- It's possible. Though they'll have some cash to burn too, especially if someone buys Aarons, who incidentally they can maybe charge more for now the coffers are full.

Joe- Yes, our recruitment has not been great. Unlike some I don't even think we did that well last summer. Allan is decent but getting on and does not really solve the issue of mobility and Doucoure brings great energy but very little quality on the ball. Rodriguez is fantastic of course but will not be here for long. Godfrey was a good signing I think but we still have so many problems in midfield.

I was a big fan of bringing Brands in but it's hard to point for his time here as successful. There are still so many holes to fill and quite a few players in their late 20's. Perhaps he has struggled to have his way with the constant turnaround of managers.

Robert,
Can't disagree but Duncan really got the team fired up and even called Kean ashore for what he perceived as lack of effort. I just feel we are losing our way looking for a marquee manager when what we need is a manager for Everton. They could work as a team: Dunc and Unsy.

Sam, that is why I posted, if Villa keep Grealish, they are showing intent whereas we appear to be drifting further into mediocracy.

And by the way, they don't have a marquee manager. As they say, just saying.

Sam and others, I too am very envious about Villa. They were very, very lucky to be saved from relegation by a VAR malfunction last season, but since then, have turned it around with some fantastic acquisitions last summer - Martinez at Goal, Cash at RB, Ollie Watkins, Bertrand Traore. Even Ross Barkley did well for them initially before fading away. Having said that, I think Grealish will move to Man City. They are also rumoured to be in the hunt for Matheus Perreira, whom many here rate highly (including me). I like John McGinn and Douglas Luiz as well, so they potentially have a a very decent squad.

At the same time, it just goes to show 2 things:

1. Aston Villa's turnaround shows that in football, things can turn around very quickly with a few good purchases. Didn't something similar happen (but more spectacularly) for Leicester - they barely escaped relegation and next season won the Premier League with essentially the same core of players but a few crucial purchases like Kante and Mahrez?
2. So even Everton can do it, we have been unlucky with player purchases in the past couple of season - Gbamin getting injured, Delph turning out to be injured/dud, Iwobi just a terrible buy, Kean not ready for the PL, Branthwaite/Nkounkou not trusted enough by Carlo, James/Allan/Doucoure not being consistently available through their debut season to make a big enough impact, etc, etc.

So, if Marcel Brands and the new manager can get their recruitments right this summer, there is no reason why we shouldn't have a decent season. After all, we do have some good players. We need to add pace and defensive solidity to the right side as well as strengthen the midfield.

Oh... and Dumfries looks very useful, a very PL type player. Get him and someone like Perreira or St. Maximin on the right side, and the team would be far more potent and entertaining to watch.

We are being left behind by Leicester and Villa. They are both adding successfully to gaps in a decent and balanced squad. Both have a core of 15/16 of very capable players.

Never mind the big 6, if Leeds & West ham get a decent striker in - we will be lucky to stay in the top 10 at this rate.

Frustrating to see other clubs making early strides.

And we still look like gonna struggle to get a fee for Kean, and if Nuno does become our manager, we'll have another manager fixated on signing a favourite from his other club which'll see us over pay for a decent but not quite brilliant player.

Watching Dumfries for Netherlands vs Ukraine now, he hasn’t been challenged too much defensively, lot of energy going forward, but a Seamus-style goalscorer he is not! Misses two glorious chances. The match is really entertaining btw. Oh, and Stekelenburg is in goal for Netherlands!

He scored the winner though

I wouldn't bother with him. Was part of a Dutch defence that threw away a two goal lead. Waste of space!!

Rob seriously? 1st goal nothing he could do about it.. cracker into the top corner. 2nd was a free kick..I thought he had a good match. Probably their best player. Looked dangerous throughout. Missed a easy header in the 1st half.. but headed the winner towards the end. I was impressed with him.

Shite, Joe. I wouldn't waste me money on him.

Big, strong, quick, pings the ball into the danger area, likes to lurk at the far post. Is he a full back / wingback or both?
BBC bigged him up apart from Dion Dublin introducing a bizarre new footballing offence of an onside attacking player being in the goalkeepers sight-line. Micah and Gabby didn’t bat an eyelid never mind put him straight.
Read today we are after Marcelo whilst the dynamic Matheus Pereira is only interesting the likes of Norwich and Brentford.

I hope Rob is joking.

I thought Dumfries looked an outstanding player, exactly what we want at RB or RWB. Athletic, fast, strong, useful in the air, full of running, took up some useful positions, good on the ball. Put in more quality crosses in one match than Seamus has in about 3 seasons

Not expensive from what I've read. 25. Absolute no-brainer.

Regarding Marcelo, can't see this happening. Only possible link is he's friends with Rodriguez