Everton announce signing of Vitaliy Mykolenko

Now we need to sort out right back and find a central midfielder to add some flair. The money we raise from the expected sales of Gomes, Digne, Holgate and maybe more should give us the opportunity to shop, if not at Harrods, then at least Sainsbury's rather than Lidl and Poundland.
I look forward to seeing what unfolds over the month.

The only way Gomez and Holgate will be going out the door will be by loan or for very little money, the club will keep them rather than the latter.

Welcome aboard Vitaly.

Digne’s out and we’ve signed a replacement with not much faffing about, so thank god for that. Now a right back, Patterson looks a strong possibility.

Soren @ 8, I don't think we can let any of those players leave, given the size of our squad unless of course we can replace with better which means decent transfer fee's which will be very unlikely in my opinion

Regards our new signing, he wasn't too good against England in the Euro's and that's all I have seen of him.

Welcome to Everton Vitaliy, hope you settle well and do the business for us.
HNY everyone, hope it's a good one for all.

I would like, in the ideal world, now for us to get both Ramsey (the one at Aberdeen, people, not the over-the-hill one from Juventus) and Patterson from Rangers – then we would have two fullbacks on each side; one being more a defensive back and one more a wing-back.

Ramsey does look raw but seems more suited to the wing-back role. Young, energetic players which would bode well for the future. Whether we have the money for it or not is ano-ther matter.

If Mykolenko displays the same kind of talent, passion and commitment that Digne always has, this will be a good signing indeed.

And for the likely-departing Digne, I wish nothing but the best.

Like you, I like the idea of young enthusiastic players with the potential to take us to the next level. I know it doesn't always work out but it's got to be worth a try… especially as we haven't got the money for Hollywood signings.

It's going to be tough to shift some of Everton's lost causes, but let's hope so.

Still think the right-back position was more needed early doors and The Club are still looking at Patterson and, the far cheaper option, Ramsay.
Both very young lads and will both find it a bit of a culture shock if either were to go straight in the team.

Fingers crossed we can get rid of the deadwood early too?p

I envy young Vitaliy. He's going to the greatest club on earth, will be super rich, and can have the best looking birds in the Ukraine. Lucky sod!

There's plenty of time to complete a clearout in the summer, but right now we are desperately short of healthy bodies and have fixtures stacked up like flights circling over JFK in a snowstorm.

A player should only be sold in January if his replacement is already aboard.

Look at where Leicester and West Ham recruit from: is it Scottish clubs like Aberdeen? We need proven Premier League players at top-half level or equivalent from elsewhere. These players are out there; those clubs I mentioned find them on a regular basis.

The ones we do find, Digne now, most can't wait to get rid of. Small-club mentality in the core support, and then blame the club for no ambition.

By the end of the season / start of next, Mykolenko should be first choice. Godfrey will hopefully have matured into a partner for Branthwaite – although that may take another season or so.

Not unlike how Baines earned his spot of Lescott – and Lescott matured into a better centre-back.

None of Henry, Vidic and Evra looked up to much on arrival. He's likely to need a bit of time to acclimatise.

Contrast our experience of Premier League ready disappointments, who have resulted in extraordinarily huge losses and no sale proceeds to reinvest in better.

Calvin Ramsay plays for Aberdeen

Aaron Ramsey players (rarely) for Juventus.

But more are needed. I think we'll muddle through to mid(ish) table regardless – the squad isn't that awful – and there are a load more whose contracts run out at the end of this season, opening up the chance to rebuild.

But let's not forget we've got Nkounkou due back next season having learned some lessons and feel that's in their minds too.

Digne? I just don't know. Clearly has the ability but has lost the faith. Could it come back? Not long ago he was one no-one wanted to see go... the problem, it seems, is he wants to get forward too much and his defensive work, whilst not bad, just isn't great. He can whip the ball across, can take good corners and free-kicks (still). Doesn't that actually make him... a winger? Perhaps he should stay and be used more in that role. Dunno – just floating it!

I'm guessing James Maddison is one of those players you refer to that we should have been looking at?

Can you guess which league he had a season-long loan at before his move to Leicester?

And also, David, when did Digne last have a good game for us?

All we need now is a right-back and a goal-scoring midfield player.

I was really surprised reading your post but, as you mentioned West Ham and they're on the telly just now, have a look at the starting 11 and their last clubs:

Fabianski – Swansea
Coufal – Slavia Prague
Dawson – Watford
Diop – Toulouse
Johnson – Youth team
Rice – Youth team
Soucek – Slova Liberec
Bowen – Hull City
Benrahma – Brentford
Lanzini – Al Jazira Club
Antonio – Nottm Forest

So, David, I'm sure you'll agree: West Ham are doing not too bad and not many of those starting today have come from teams you expect us to get our wasters from…

He may need a few weeks to settle but we must hope he has the ambition, hunger and quality to adapt quickly to his new surroundings.

Hope he is strong, fast and passionate. Digne is finished here.

It's refreshing to see the club getting on the front foot, being decisive, and doing business early rather than the usual long drawn out "will he, won't he" that has become all too familiar in recent years. Maybe this a sign that things are starting to change with the mentality of the club hierarchy. Here's hoping…

Shame we couldn't have got him at that price. Very raw but would certainly be a handful.

Seems to be a lot of young quality coming out of the US now (and Canada). Perhaps their league and infrastructure has matured.

The price is about 30% higher than it should be, I'd say, and not that far off what we paid for Digne, which doesn't seem right… but time will tell if it's decent value or not.

I find it strange how quickly people seem to want good players to leave when they are having a poor patch. There's a reason many top clubs are enquiring about Digne and Mykolenko will do very well if he reaches the Frenchman's level.

A right-back next, maybe some more dynamism in the middle, and Calvert-Lewin back fit; we might win some games again.

Clubs like Juventus, Inter and Chelsea are being linked to Digne. He is a French international and one of the few quality players in the squad. But we are willing to sell him for 25 million because Benitez didn't like his comments?

It's just as well our manager hasn't read ToffeeWeb if he is that sensitive, as his selection, gameplan and substitutions have been rightly questioned on here since the debacle of the last 3 months.

I am happy with the signing though, Digne has looked out of sorts for 18 months now and even if he doesn’t go (which he probably will) it will at least offer some decent competition.

That is an absolute coup for WBA and a huge fucking mistake by us. That price is less than half of what Orlando was demanding when Everton was interested in Dike last spring. His price tag was lowered by an injury-slowed season in MLS, but we should have stuck with it and gotten him half off as WBA did.

Dike is raw indeed and will require seasoning, but he has a rare combination of speed, power and aggression, and an RPG for a right foot. He's built like Adama Traore, only six inches taller and 50 pounds heavier. And he's just 21.

I predict that in 2 years (or less, if he makes the US World Cup lineup), he will look like the steal of the decade. And it should have been us.

I am seriously pissed off.

Dumfries has already come out and said that an offer from Everton was on the table but his preference was for Inter. That said... not sure why there was no Plan B for another right-back.

Rafa will fall on his sword with his prediction of us having a better 2nd half of the season.

Rafa needs a good run of wins or the restless will get him run outta town...

Mark # 64 - from what I have seen on YouTube I think it must have been your connection speed.

Or maybe it was just my TV's high-speed connection.

Let's hope nothing compares to him. Benitez knows how to hold a grudge until the bitter end until he gets what he wants. Rodriquez and Digne are just two we know about. He would get the freedom of the city if he somehow ousts that idiot playwright.

In over 50 years of watching Everton, I've never looked forward to going the game less than I do today.

Why do people on here keep going on about Bill Kenwright? It's so boring and factually incorrect.

Good Luck to him on his Everton career.