Richarlison in no rush to decide his future

If we don't offer better terms he will go as his stock is high and we can't let the contract run down. If he stays then I guess it's either Calvert-Lewin or Pickford (or both) on the move. I could live with that if we sign quality replacements, à la Pope and Broja.

I'd love him to stay and give Frank a chance to strengthen with the necessary midfield signings, plus a centre-back.

I thought the team grew a bit in the final 6 weeks (forget Arsenal) – even the Brentford match, we looked well on top. With smart strengthening, we can build on that better form and with Richarlison we have a better chance of a Eurosport and / or a cup.

If Richarlison wants to go, well, good luck to him, he was one of the main factors (along with Pickford and our incredible support) why we stayed up.

To allow us to strengthen, just tell us sooner rather than later, Richie.

I don't agree with the comments we have to sell our top players. With Tosun, Delph and Sigurdsson on their way, that's nearly £15M off our wage bill, and we can shift 4/5 other players who are surplus to requirements, and hopefully Frank has a few targets lined up.

Here's hoping.

Man Utd manager to get £120 million to spend.

Chelsea new owners have more money than Abromovich and seem to know what they are talking about as to what model they want to put in place.

Manchester City saying they are going to spend big.

Newcastle will be spending big, they have also put in a great Technical Director.

We are so far behind and looks to me very little money. Unless a miracle happens, we are really going to be struggling again…

173 appearances, 48 goals and 16 assists. Keep him and build the team around him, with better quality players.

(Having blown our small chance at the getting onto the fringes of that club.)

You are of course correct, whether Richarlison leaves or stays, Everton won't be able to compete with teams like Chelsea and Manchester United for quite some time and we should be more concerned as to whether we can have a squad good enough to keep our place in the Premier League for the last few seasons at Goodison Park.

It's pointless worrying about what other clubs are spending, or which players they recruit, we are back in an era of make do and mend and we have to hope that somehow there are players available to us that can perform well above their current status.

Evertonians are going to have to dig deep once again next season by urging the team on in many a game and not just those games against the elite clubs. Every single point gained next season will be priceless just as it was for the last few months, it's not what we all want but it's the price we have to pay for so many poor decisions made by the club's hierarchy in the last 6 years.

The thing is, if he stays at Everton, Richarlison is assured of starting every game. If he goes to Man Utd, he's second string behind Cristiano. If he goes to PSG, he's second string behind Mbappé. And he's certainly not a guaranteed starter at Man City or Chelsea or Real Madrid.

So if he moves to a big club now, he risks spending big chunks of the autumn on somebody's bench, which is not a good look for the Brazil manager, Tite. To stay on the Brazil team sheet, he needs to pile up games and goals. Only Everton can promise that.

My prediction: He stays with us until November. Goes off to Qatar, bangs in 4-5 goals, maybe dances with the trophy, and comes home having enhanced his value by £20 million.

And then puts in a transfer request for January.

I was sort of proud of how well we did for a time, based on the relatively small resources we had a decade back. No doubt, we stretched that to as far as it would go, better than anyone else. For a short while under Martinez, we upset the apple cart. I actually was cool on the money coming in, a take-it-or-leave-it view.

Well, it didn't work out, and we're right back there, aren't we? As you say, dig deep and hope long... a post-Dogs of War era reboot, with less of the good stuff, and more disadvantaged versus the monied clubs. Hopefully no trouble from FFP.

Perhaps there's a lesson from the last six years, after all. Looks like we're getting a stadium out of it though.

Qatar could be a saving grace as the same should apply to Calvert-Lewin. Regular starter for Everton or bit part player elsewhere to force your way back into the England squad.

Kevin Campbell says all three stars will stay.

Good luck to him, he will be even better in a good team and when not surrounded by utter dross.

Has always given his all, an incredibly brave player who willingly takes on a huge physical burden in most games. When surrounded by players who will share this with him, it will release much more of his ability.

Great attitude. Great player. Wrong time for EFC unfortunately.

Personally, I would wish him well if he were to leave as I don't think any player at the club gave more to ensure we survived in the Premier League last season.

He's probably my favourite Everton player but I feel this might be the right time for both sides to part ways. Though, as Mike G says, a good World Cup may always boost his value.

I had hoped PSG might fancy him but don't love the idea of him going to another Premier League team.

If we're 12th, I'd say probably not.

It really isn't that difficult. Anybody who's followed my posts over the years will have seen my highlighting of players such as Soucek, Reece James, Berardi etc. at times when Everton could've snapped them up for decent money.

Scott Twine is the latest.

Time our board got like Levy — if he must be sold, then only for the best price possible.

I think we paid £35M for him, with the rest on clauses we have probably failed to achieve.

Just hope we can get the best deal; however, that will no doubt be put towards our horrendous losses. With our financial predicament, we have no option but to cash in.

This one will probably work out for both parties.

Why do we have such poor upcoming talent recognition scouting structure or when they do identify a gem they fail to recognise value?

Forget about big names, we need hungry young talented players who are looking to prove themselves on big stage.

If it's ultimately a question of matching his ambitions, well of course we all want the same thing, but getting reckless with short-term thinking and trying to gate-crash the Champion's League is how we got into this whole mess in the first place. So if we get into a game of trying to appease our top players by showing we mean business, it's unlikely to end well.

We've wasted far too much money on buying good-not-great players in the £20-30 million range (Schneiderlin, Gomes, Bolasie, etc...). There's plenty of hungry, young talent out there to be tapped, as well as smart deals to be made (Demarai Gray proved that).

We need to walk before we can run (or in our case, crawl before we can walk).

For me, pace, crosses and a big Number 9, Goodison rocking, lights, cameras, action. That will always get me out of my seat.

The rest is simply down to good, honest hard work. Alex Iwobi has become the model for that.

Everton being Everton did not take up the option of keeping him for the second year, and sent him back after the first year.

But is it a case that the silence is deafening, except from the player, who also says he doesn't wish to speak about it while on international duty?

Tangled webs – or the lesson that we wouldn't sell Our Kid for £50M???

Joking apart, like some have said, what's better, being involved every week and being the star act, or spending a lot of time on someone else's bench?

I know players want to win things but I have a feeling that the next couple of years, if Frank is given his way, we could well be at the other end of the table, have a piece of silverware and have a decent blend of players.

For me, he would be the biggest loss since Alan Ball and we would struggle to replace him with what we get for him.

Jesus doesn't put anything like the shift that Richarlison regularly puts in with defending, moving the ball forward, creating chances and scoring goals.

I dread the day we lose him.

I also understand that we got a second chance to buy him a couple of years later and didn't take up the offer. Is that correct? If so, there is something fundamentally wrong at Everton.

We seem to be always looking at marquee signings (at club and also TW) whereas other clubs seem to pick up gems.

I would think West Ham would suit him best: in Europe and battling for Top 5. Just where we would like to be.

Totally agree with your assessment in respect of Richarlison keeping his place in the Brazilian team.

After Qatar… who knows?

However, provided we get a high enough fee, and more importantly it's not wasted on dross like Tosun, Walcott, Niasse etc, then we should cash in whilst his stock is high.

If he stays for another year then he'll only have one more season left on his contract and we risk getting much less or he runs it down to zero.

We paid I think £50M(?) for him so would expect a profit on that – maybe sell for £75M+.

Get a massive fee, eg, from PSG, and reinvest wisely.

‘would be the biggest loss since Alan Ball'

Surely that's Rooney? And given away by Teary Bill for a pittance. Man Utd couldn't believe their luck. Let's not make that mistake again with Richarlison. Or Branthwaite.

He has given more than pretty much anyone else in terms of commitment and effort. And his fee should help the club at a sticky time.

I would love him to stay, but it's not likely. Unlike Lukaku, who shot his mouth off at any given moment, he has just gone about his job.

From what I understand Erling Haaland was at our academy for only 4 days. He was invited over after very positive reviews from our scout in Europe, Bryan King, who had been tracking him for a while at a small Norwegian club.

Our academy staff looked at him for the 4 days and decided to pass on him.

He would leave a big hole in our team though. We would need to replace his energy, enthusiasm and goals, unlike when Lukaku left and was never replaced.

I prefer it happens sooner rather than later, however, so we can use the funds without last-minute panic buying, and don't miss out on any available talent.

To my mind, and if he does decide to leave this summer, he surely goes with the blessing and thanks of each and every one of us. The guy even has his Evertonian chant tattooed on his neck so he clearly loves the club and nobody could legitimately say he hasn't earned the right to play at the top.

Of course we all want him to stay, but the reality of the situation surely leans pretty heavily towards him going if the right club and right offer comes up.

He'll surely forever have a place in all our hearts either way.

In fairness, Haaland was hawked around loads of clubs around the age of 15 when he debuted for Molde. But he's been very choosy about where he plays his football and where he develops.

He specifically chose Salzburg as a club that would give him top flight games and European opportunities in his teens. It was a good decision.

He moved to Dortmund for similar reasons and included a low sale price in his contract to give him freedom to join the right, top Champions League club when the time was right. He'll have taken lower wages to get that option.

Everton would probably have been interesting (as per Leeds and various others) but probably never in the running in reality.

No, if Richarlison leaves, it won't be to a comparable midtable club (which is what West Ham are in relation to Everton), but to a top club regularly in the Champions League. He'll want to move up, not sideways.

I love him and hope he stays.

We had the golden Kendall days when we really were unbeatable. Kendall could have done a Klopp and introduced one or maybe two players a year to improve us and continue our dominance. It was all taken away by our neighbours.

Then we had Rooney. The once-in-a-lifetime talent to build a team around. Unfortunately, we had the World's Greatest Evertonian, so that was fucked!

Now we have a billionaire! Let's get a team together. Build around Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin – another fuck-up and we're looking to sell our jewels…

When will this shit end?

Why do you need to know by 8:30 pm on 15th June? Is that the deadline for returning your "Richarlison" emblazoned replica shirt?

Absolutely, no wonder we're shite. Everton are addicted to selling our best players, starting in my era with the ridiculous sale of Alan Ball which totally undermined the then best side in British football.

EFC does not deserve its supporters.

Robert and Tony.

I'm comfortable with the Haaland situation. This was a player who at that age needed to develop, I have huge doubts about whether he'd have developed to this stage had he joined Everton.

This is a different situation all together had the chance been available to sign him when he went to Dortmund. Which it wasn't.

If somehow we had bagged the lad, we weren't equipped to benefit. Let it rest already.

Probably wasn't any good…

I also understand that we got a second chance to buy him a couple of years later and didn't take up the offer. Is that correct?

If so, there is something fundamentally wrong at Everton.

We seem to be always looking at marquee signings (at the club and also on TW) whereas other clubs seem to pick up gems.

I note your post with amusement: “It won't be to a comparable midtable club (which is what West Ham are in relation to Everton)”. Have you not noticed the final Premier League table in 2022?

Our problem in Everton is:

1. We delude ourselves that we are still a Top 6 club.

2. We are always looking for marquee players but being a Bottom 4 club makes us unattractive.

3. What we need now is a Moyes-like pragmatism of building a team without egos who are hungry for success. Then hopefully we can compete again at the top table just in time for the move to Bramley-Moore Dock.

4. Hopefully Frank is the man to build the team from hungry, committed players who get what a privilege it is to play for the Toffees.

We need to get real with our expectations. It will take a few years and we must be patient.

We're habitually midtable with the occasional foray into the relegation zone. It's been like that for several decades.

Last season was only one season. You need perspective, not knee-jerk reaction based on one season.

I see you fully understand the irony of Evertonianism.

All of David Moyes's 74 Everton signings rated

My favourite top buy:
1) Cahill (I'm an Aussie. I'm biased.)
2) Martyn
3) Coleman
4) Arteta
5) Baines
6) Jagielka

I can see Benitez has started recruiting shrewdly. I know people dislike him. But what he purchased so far seems good business.

Hopefully Frank can do the same. Pick up some youngsters and also a couple of experienced player on the cheap. eg, like Martyn or Barry.

All sounds a bit far fetched but other clubs do it and go from strength to strength – or, at the very least, don't nosedive. Leicester being one.

As it is, we have better spirit under Lampard, who really matured as a manager in those critical final few weeks.

We also have Dele Alli to replace Sigurdsson.

If we sign reliable, fit replacements for Mina and whichever of Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison leaves (maybe both), then we should finish top half.

The season after, we can start pushing seriously for Europa League places. That is a major improvement on 12th, 10th and 16th positions.

It's a good point Although I'd be more skeptical about how well Benitez would've done with a fully fit squad.

However it cannot be emphasised enough how important the level of robustness for a player is.

Mina just cannot stay fit for long enough. And no matter how good any player may be, if they aren't available week in week out then they are no good and will hardly ever feature in a successful side.

It is not difficult to do your homework in this area. If a player is prone to muscle injuries then I'm afraid they should be avoided. Likewise if they have a recurring injury to a specific body part.

Impact injuries are part of the game and will always happen and cannot be avoided. However the robust players will recover from these and there will be no lasting problem (Van Dijk, Coleman, Van Nistelrooy, Carragher)

But for players with muscular issues or weakness of a body part - they just aren't built for the rigours of Premier League football and you'll always be struggling to get them on the pitch, at 100 %. And for this reason, no matter what the ability - they will always be a liability and cannot be relied upon.

It's a good point and I hope you are right. We have already seen many clubs have identified and signed their targets, eg. Villa.

With Everton, we only hear about players we are linked with often as a result of agents' media work.