Interest in Allan from the Middle East

It looks like his departure has been a possibility for months now. Gana's arrival, along with Onana and Garner, means Allan will play hardly any games if he decides to stay.

A move now would be good for him football-wise and for us P&S wise and frees up some more financial room for a better quality backup or challenger to Calvert-Lewin in January.

Remember, the decision is not just for him – it's what is best for his wife and children too, their friendships, mental health, schooling etc matters. They are human, not commodities.

Good point, Tony. Fans are quick to want rid of a player who isn't performing/playing at all but sometimes don't consider the further consequences a transfer can have on their families.

As for the player, the only time I was impressed with Allan was around Dec '20 when he started to really play. Driving forward and making things happen along with his defensive responsibilities. Typically, he was injured away at Leicester just before Christmas and never really rediscovered his form.

A decent player for us but one that was past his best very quickly after his arrival at Goodison. Good luck to him, though, he always put a shift in and looked genuinely happy whenever we won.

I like Allan but clearly Frank doesn't fancy him. Agree there has probably been an element of keeping him fresh for a potential sale; if we could get any sort of fee north of ٣M, that would be most welcome.

I suspect though he will go on loan until his contract expires. If we could get small fees for him and Rondon, that would cap an excellent window for us.

Tony 1, Did you write that with violin music playing?

Jesus, the mental health of a millionaire pro footballer and his family is well sorted, I would think. Save your thoughts for the ordinary people, not the ones on another planet.

I think Tony's point is valid, Paul. I don't judge people on how much they earn or don't earn. With regards to modern footballers, if I felt that strongly, I would refuse to subscribe to Sky Sports or spend an amount of my earnings following Everton up and down the country (Europe soon!!).

Privileged? Yes, but mostly by virtue of their talent and getting the opportunity for their breakthrough. They also make a lot of sacrifices giving up a lot of things us working mortals take for granted. Like family life.

Supply and demand. We pay their wages.

I like Allan and was a promoter. A very good player and leader on the pitch when we didn't really have one. But I'd agree that we probably got him 2 years too late and missed the best of him. Good luck to him and his family.

Well said, Danny. Life is not all about money although I realise it's critical for many people (or lack of it at the moment in this country).

I agree with what you say about Allan. He, like many players, was never the same after he was injured, plus I think Frank is looking for pace in midfield and that he definitely does not have.

Wherever he goes I wish him well.

Talking of interest in our players (or ex members of staff), David Unsworth has been appointed the new Oldham manager. A good level for which rhino to start at, the Conference league. Absolutely no pressure should be on him, so hope he can get his managerial career off to a good start.

I'm sure Allan could do a job if called upon, his effort and commitment have never been in question, but he's basically our 7th choice midfielder at this point, and for good reason... he'll be gone one way or another at the end of the season, and is a non-factor in the club's plans moving forward. There's zero reason to play him unless we need him, and right now we don't need him.

Paul, the notion that pro footballers can't have mental health issues because they have a lot of money (or worse, that we shouldn't care if they do, because they have a lot of money) is pretty ignorant.

Re Rob, No 7.

I too would like to offer my best wishes to David Unsworth, a true Blue in my opinion. Probably stayed too long but he always gave his all and obviously still has ambitions.

Danny@5 Good comment

Allan, Gomes, Pickford, Calvert-Lewin, Townsend, Godfrey, Mina, Holgate weren't on the bench on Saturday.

Appreciate injuries are part of it, but who is going to be sat in the stand come the New Year unable to get on a 9-man subs bench?

Rondon, Keane, Gomes look like they're finished at the club, and I guess the club would prefer to move Allan over Davies. 4 out, 2 younger players coming in?

Ian (#11);

Hasn't Gomes gone out on loan for the season – at the end of which he is out of contract?

Yeah, he has gone, but his contract is till June 2024.

Andre Gomes is on loan at Lille, so far Andre has played in all 3 Lille fixtures, two as sub and one in the starting 11.

He is not to be confused with Benjamin Andre (#21) or Angel Gomes (#20) who scored against Montpellier (not something we have seen Andre do very often). A midfield of Andre, Gomes, Gomes sounds like a chant that should never happen, lol.

I actually think he is a useful player, particularly if used as a sub, coming on to add bite and chase down.

But… he signed for a significant fee. Best to move him on whilst there is still a potential of getting money for him.

Shame, a real example of the issues the club has faced with short-term transfer policies.

I think Allan has been pretty decent at times and was one of the most important players under Ancelotti whose 10th place finish looks quite reasonable in retrospect.

Nonetheless, he is another player bought for over 㿀M who will probably leave for nothing. Hopefully the club has learned its lesson in this regard and we've seen the end of splashing big sums on players in their late 20s.

Allan is another player who probably would have done a lot better if we had a bigger squad, and he wouldn't have had to play nearly every week. Maybe.

I thought he was better at Goodison, rather than away from home, and I also thought he struggled to play two games a week. He also probably has regrets that he came to play in this very physically demanding league, just a little bit too late in his career…

I agree, Tony. I really like him, his quality stands out but the physique is starting to compromise it. Might not be feasible to keep him for several reasons (money being major) but I'd rather have him here than not.

Ian #11

You're spot on. We've a fairly strong squad now - though perhaps still light on goals. I imagine the First XI and most balanced bench is (when all fit, which is rare!):

Pickford
Patterson - Coady - Tarkowski - Mykolenko
Onana - Gana - Iwobi
Gray - DCL - Gordon

Begovic, Coleman, Godfrey, Vinagre, Garner, Doucoure, McNeil, Townsend, Maupay.

Then reserves still:
Lonergan, Jakupovic, Holgate, Keane, Mina, Welch, Allan, Davies, Price, Rondon, Mills.

I expect he could look pretty good alongside Onana and Iwobi as a central trio - but we have Gueye now to do a similar job. And Garner, Doucoure and Davies as back-up.

So probably makes sense to get his wages off the books – and he'll be leaving sooner or later anyway.

Like Sam says, it is an astonishing record we have now of buying players for over 㿀m and then seeing them leave for free within just 2 or 3 years.

Looks like this one might be a done deal. Best of luck to him. The last of our Brazilian trio.

Allan agrees to sign for Al-Wahda

Rondon and Mina the next ones out the door hopefully.