Everton make their move for Leicester midfielder

And so begins the speculation as to who we'll sign. As usual, there will be multiple other teams interested in our targets. A Club on the verge of bankruptcy is not an attractive proposition. We remain in limbo till the ownership is sorted.

Yes we'll be shopping for out-of-contact players, journeymen, loans, while parting with Onana and Branthwaite. Cobbling together a squad will go down to the wire. But we're still in this and who would bet against us continuing to survive.

Doesn't a lot of this rather depend on who owns us after season's end?

(No, I'm not entertaining the idea of administration. Not now.)

Q: Are Everton interested in signing a midfielder from Leicester?

A: Yes, Ndidi.

Where did I put that coat?

Ndidi would be a very good signing on a free imo. He's only 27 and has played most of Leicester's games this season - surprised they haven't given him a new contract tbh.

Alli, Gomes, Danjuma, Harrison, Gueye all likely gone in a months time so we'll be desperately short of midfielders. Not to mention we'll likely also be selling Onana.

Ndidi would be a good replacement for Gueye.

Sign him up.

Ndidi and Barkley on free transfers would be excellent business.

File this under... "I'll believe it when he's holding up a scalf at Finch Farm".

A relegation battle with us or Champions League with Juventus?

Tough choice.

Dyche just said he's "juggling sand" and has no idea what the financial situation is.

So, while Ndidi may be on Thelwell's list of targets in a "best case scenario", the only certainty now is that people will be leaving either because they're out of contract or because we have to sell them.

At this point, it seems unlikely we will sign any players in the summer.

Paul Hewitt @ 5; Barkley? No, No and thrice No!

Look at the recent goals highlights for Luton vs Man City... one word - 'Static' sums him up, or crap if you're a bit harsher.
Yeah well it was vs City – but wait, there's more – look at the recent game vs Wolves – just the same.

He makes Onana look like Prime Pogba.

Owing to PSR there will be many players from many clubs up for sale this summer. It is reported today Man United will listen to offers for all their players.

How many clubs will have the headroom within PSR to buy players remains to be seen. My suspicion is it will be a buyer’s market for those clubs able to spend.

Kieran, we're going to have to sign some players. Somehow.

I'd imagine we'll be pretty serious about every out-of-contract player in half-decent leagues.

No owner. No money. No hope? Ndidi would probably be a replacement for Onana.

On another note, I see Che Adams is being linked with us for the 15th season in a row.

Derek @9,

Funny, but watching some of that game, I thought Barkley was disinterested, as though he had been told he isn't wanted next season despite being Luton's best player.

More likely than not, Luton will be trimming costs in expectation of relegation and Barkley will be a luxury. A free to anyone?

I think the chances of a return to Everton are about 5% and that's being generous. Sometimes you have to sleep in the bed you made. But you never know with this club...

Ernie,

I'd imagine we will go the route of Derby and Burnley: sign no one and promote the sub-standard youth.

On the plus side, apparently if Leeds are promoted, they'll face a points deduction as well as Leicester and us obviously.

It's amazing a team like Sheff Utd get in the Premier League, survive, then invest a bit, not a tonne on Ramsdale and that RS kid, then get relegated and sanctioned so they could only sell not buy before returning to the Premier League.

Leeds didn't exactly go hog-wild either but same boat for them. Leicester City have some success bow to agents to raise player wages and points deduction for them too.

Luton and Burnley play it safe and get relegated. Meanwhile the Premier League haven't had time to look into City's 115 charges dating back a decade.

So we may survive with our 8 first team players and under 21s next season as the likes of Ipswich dare not spend a penny to bolster their team which was third-tier a year ago.

Fucking joke of a league. “Fair play” indeed as Chelsea settle their debt by selling a hotel to another company they own!!

No argument from me there Kieran.

I mean, bringing through youth is actually a sensible approach. It should really be a common standard. They've got to come through somewhere.

But there are teams that won't do that, and will pick off any youth players that happen to come through and show great potential.

The sport at the top level is a basket case.

Brownhill from Burnley looks nailed on to me. He may bring Charlie Taylor with him too. Both Dyche boys. Both on a free.

Ndidi looked a great player just a few years ago but has had a few bad injuries since then including a knee injury in 2021-22 that saw him miss 20 games and another one last season that saw him miss 13 games.

One of the reasons we have done well this season is that our core of Pickford, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Garner and Gueye have had very few injuries.

If Ndidi is fit, then he'd a very useful player for Dyche. He's only 27 so a decent age. Brownhill though unglamorous would be another good fit.

Much will depends on wages, Ndidi will probably have suitors and may think on a free transfer he deserves £100k. I wouldn't want him for more than £60k p/w given his injury history. Brownhill would probably expect even less than that.

Lots of free transfer about including Kenny Tete, Ola Aina, Lloyd Kelly, Barreiro, Tosin, and O'Hare from Coventry.

Agree with Jack @ 16, Brownhill (similarly to Garner) can play wide midfield too so is flexible.

I do wonder if, we sign some good workers in midfield, Garner might find himself at right-back where he played well for us (and England U21s).

Patterson I dare say is prone to a knock, Seamus is ageing, Godfrey is solid if a non-creator... just think it's worth thinking of.

As has been pointed out already, next season, this joke of a league will be settled in committee rooms with polished tables and comfy chairs, not on our pitches.

The best signings anyone could make will come from the legal world and the field of accountancy.

If we spent money on anyone, I'd love us to splash some cash on Martin Terrier of Rennes to replace Doucoure. A proper footballer who knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.

I wouldn't mind Doughtie and Mengie from Luton if the price was low enough. Also Foster from Burnley and the Bosnian centre-back from Sheffield United.

There's plenty of good players from the 3 teams going down. I'm assuming that Jarrad and Amadou will be sold so we'll have a few bob.

The world and its wife knows we've got no money to speak of. We are waiting on a group of chancers under investigation to see if they are fit and proper to buy us from an idiot owner who's blown millions.

We're waiting on the possibility of administration if everything goes tits up. With a manager who's had to struggle against the odds with points deductions, injuries and no money to spend. And some twit says we're after a Leicester player – you couldn't make it up – no wait…

The speculation starts and of course Everton will be linked with many changes especially the free transfers.

Personally I like Dewsbury-Hall but no chance of that happening.

Much, of course, will depend on new ownership etc, if it ever happens, but certainly midfield is where to start.

We are extremely light up front with Calvert-Lewin always seemingly unfit and the likes of Beto and Chermitti not yet up to snuff, if ever they will be.

Let's all sit back and dream of new beginnings (like we do at the end of every season).

Sam @17, is Aina the guy from Forest? He looked very very quick and useful against City at weekend. Outpaced Kyle Walker on one occasion.

Andrew, yes. Very decent full-back who can operate on either side.

Out of contract this summer though I think he has an option for one more year.

One more midfield name I would like to put out there is Beni Baningime. I know he had a bad injury which kept him out for more than a season, but he has come back strong and played over 20 games under Steve Naismith at Hearts. He is out of contract in the summer but has indicated that he intends to repay the club which supported him through the injury. I have always liked him and thought he was a Rolls-Royce of a player, he seems to play super smoothly.

Ajay, that's a blast from the past. Not sure Baningime is quite up to the job. Though I do quite like Matt O'Riley from Celtic. And Owen Beck is a decent young left back at Dundee.

Hi Same Hoare, I recall watching the series about football from the beginning, where you were involved in one of the episodes, excellent viewing but for got the name of the series.

Anyway in regards to this, have you thought of doing a similar thing like Sunderland til I die, over the last 3 seasons of relegatIon, unrest at board level, points deduction etc, it would make a cracking series and so much material that you could script.

It’s not a tongue in cheek question, I really believe if you have the time and the ability to do such a series, it would be a blockbuster if you sold the rights to Netflix.

As others have said, Brownhill seems like a very likely signing – and I would expect him to be a popular player for us too.

Ndidi, I suspect, will have other offers to weigh up and may command quite high wages – so although free, wouldn't be cheap. He is the sort of player who ended up in Saudi Arabia last summer. I doubt he'll come to Everton. We might be better off just giving Gueye a contract extension.

Andrew #23.

He caught my eye in that game too. Still, as mentioned above, it's all pipe dream stuff until ownership is finally sorted.

Leicester City just got promotion. Are they going to let an experienced player walk out the door? They need a squad. Plus, on a free, his wages will be astronomical.

We need players desperately. But not at the stupid wage level the dead one used to gift. With nothing good coming through the academy, I do worry for next season. One has to ask what the point of them is?

We clearly have poor talent spotters, recruiting and coaches. If we don't have a conveyer-belt of excellent youngsters fit for the 1st team, then sadly, in a business world where you have to be ruthless, the system has to go, and all in it, for something better.

Thelwell stated he had players marked for post season. Let's see him fulfill that promise.