Everton transfer targets 2022: Richarlison’s replacement is the priority, but a massive overhaul is needed

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What do they want?

Everton may have survived relegation in the final week of the season, but this is still a squad in need of a huge overhaul and yet hamstrung by the expensive mistakes of the past. Apologies if it sounds a little dispiriting, but there is a reasonable possibility that Everton allow Frank Lampard to work through a transfer list, recruit five or six players and then sack him before the turn of the year.

Everton used 33 players in the Premier League last season, two more than any other club. And yet despite the high volume of players, there are several players that urgently require surgery. It provokes a series of difficult questions that will determine their recruitment this summer: Which of the four central defenders – Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate – do you hang your hat on? Turning 34 in October, does Seamus Coleman need to be less important (and is Nathan Patterson ready, if so)? Are Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure a good enough central midfield combination and what do you do about all the others: Andre Gomes, Tom Davies, Dele Alli, Jean-Philippe Gbamin.

It continues: Do you build around Anthony Gordon because he’s young, gifted and cares? And so what does that mean for Alex Iwobi, Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray? And what is happening with the strikers, given that both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have been strongly linked with moves away from Goodison?

Lampard is clearly going to push for significant investment, as much as the issues of Financial Fair Play (FFP) allow. He will want at least another central defender, right back, wide player, central midfielder and forward. But with the sheer volume of fodder in this Everton squad, it’s very hard to see how that can happen without first moving on players who were signed by a host of different managers. The eighth biggest wage bill in the division just finished 16th in the league.

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Who might leave?

Who might not leave is the more pertinent question. Which are the current members of Everton’s squad that you could categorically say will be there at the start of next season? Jordan Pickford, Coleman, Gordon, Vitaliy Mykolenko and… that’s it?

The futures of Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin need sorting out one way or another, and quickly. Everton cannot afford any sagas to extend into late July and they cannot afford to lose either without replacements being sourced. Those replacements will struggle to match the impact of either – they scored 35 per cent of Everton’s league goals last season and Gray came next, with five goals.

We’re labouring the point, but if Lampard is to buy another central defender, central midfielder or wide attacker, players must be sold first. Iwobi was expensive and Gray started 28 league games last season, which means Townsend’s exit make the most sense. Mina was injured for large parts of last season, meaning Keane and Holgate started a combined 54 league matches. Lampard would likely be happy to sell one of those if it funded a new option.

Central midfield is even more crowded, even after the end of Donny van de Beek’s loan and the expiry of Fabian Delph’s contract. Again, more questions: is Davies going to develop into a starter? What do you do about Alli? Would anyone in La Liga take Gomes? Is Allan quite the protector of the defence that they wanted? And when did even Everton fans last think about Gbamin?

What has been said?

“It has to improve. We have to improve. I have to improve. I have to get to work in pre-season. I didn’t have a pre-season. Can we make the squad stronger and more balanced? I believe we can. We will look at everything in that way and it is important we look at it quickly. We have [director of football] Kevin Thelwell now and we have the board that are interested in trying to get the best out of this club. We don’t want to be here next year but we understand if we don’t make positive moves it is possible. So we will be ready to move on that quickly” – Frank Lampard, 20 May.

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Potential arrivals

• Harry Winks
• Steven Bergwijn
• Armando Broja
• James Tarkowski
• Rodrigo Becao
• James Garner
• Conor Gallagher

Completed in/outs

• In: None
• Outs: Fabian Delph, Jonjoe Kenny, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Cenk Tosun (both released)

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