Everton focus is on retaining players – but scope for late intrigue remains

Spending is down in the Premier League as clubs attempt to stay on the right side of profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), with figures in the recruitment world citing the severity of Everton’s 10-point deduction as a major deterrent for any owner weighing up whether to take a risk this month.

Five years on from being bizarrely accused by one pundit of “spoiling” the window following the £40million ($50.8m) purchase of Richarlison from Watford, Everton have finally played an influential role in curbing spending.

Everton are now battling two PSR charges. The expectation at this stage is that the outcome of their appeal against the 10-point deduction for the 2021-22 breach will be known before the end of February. Led by renowned KC Laurence Rabinowitz from the Everton side, that appeals process is already underway but will conclude after a new panel sits to hear the case.

A formal outcome will be announced before another independent commission finalises its decision on the second charge, relating to the 2022-23 season.

The running joke has been that Rabinowitz could end up being Everton’s most important January signing. And there is almost certainly some truth in that, given the potential for two points deductions within the same campaign.

Other clubs will again be watching on with interest to see how Everton’s appeal plays out, but whether it shifts the dial on spending again is doubtful. The message is out now: for those clubs found to have breached PSR, the penalties will be severe. Even if Everton’s deduction is downgraded, the initial sanction has helped usher in a new era of nervousness when it comes to spending.

As their subsequent 2022-23 charge has shown, Everton are not yet out of the woods. Given the overlap between cycles, in which two of the three accounting years feature in the next calculation, one breach is more likely to lead to another. At least the huge £140million loss during Covid-19 will not be counted in future cycles.

But even if Everton had the wiggle room to spend, they would not be able to make the most of it.

With the takeover of 777 Partners still ongoing, the Miami-based group have needed to loan Everton working capital to meet everyday requirements and keep their stadium project on track.

This has been a window much like the last four or five for Everton, only with certain features amplified. In this liminal period, the club know there can be no false steps.

Expectations have been adapted accordingly.

One of the key aims of this window has been to keep the core of Sean Dyche’s squad intact in the face of persistent speculation over the futures of Jarrad Branthwaite and Amadou Onana. They are being tracked by clubs competing in the Champions League, but Everton’s valuations are sky-high and there has been no concrete interest.

Instead, the focus has been elsewhere. Jordan Henderson’s unexpected exit from Al Ettifaq has led to the Saudi club scouring the market for midfielders, with Abdoulaye Doucoure’s name being linked in passing. Everton have received no contact and would not welcome any bids for the 31-year-old. Given Doucoure’s importance to Dyche’s system, Everton are aware that any money received for him this month would be inconsequential compared to the potential cost of relegation.

There has been significant interest, from clubs in England and Europe, for fringe players such as Ben Godfrey, Youssef Chermiti and Lewis Dobbin, but Everton have so far been wary of further diminishing what they see as an already stretched squad. Outgoings in most positions would need to be replaced, but the finance has not been there to do so.

With young players such as 19-year-old Chermiti, in particular, there is also a question as to whether their development would be better served remaining in-house.

Out on loan at Southampton, Mason Holgate’s game time has been in short supply. Everton would be open to Holgate making another move — temporary or otherwise. Talks have been held with Sheffield United but an offer has not been forthcoming. The defender was on the bench again for Southampton’s 3-1 win at Swansea City over the weekend.

Part of the appeal of the existing deal with Southampton is that Holgate’s wages of over £70,000 are temporarily off the books. Given their financial situation, Everton will want to avoid a situation in which they are liable to pay his salary in the second half of the season.

Arnaut Danjuma’s loan move to Lyon remains in the balance. There is still significant interest from the French club and Danjuma is open to any switch that offers more playing time. Yet, the loan fee Everton paid to Villarreal when he joined in the summer means they have the power of veto. They have been reluctant to sanction any move, particularly without a replacement lined up.

When Danjuma and fellow winger Jack Harrison signed on loan over the summer, Everton believed that they had secured the two best loans in the market in that position. Their opinion is unlikely to have changed since. Real Betis winger Luiz Henrique has been one of the names linked should Danjuma leave.

Everton’s recruitment team have been working on the basis that business must be done on a cost-neutral basis, or with a view to a saving being made across the window as a whole.

They have been alert to opportunities in central midfield and out wide, but were beaten by Sevilla to the loan-with-option signing of Manchester United’s Hannibal Mejbri. The 21-year-old was seen as a good prospect who could also provide competition in midfield this season, but Everton were unwilling to match Sevilla’s terms.

Lyon’s Irish centre-back Jake O’Brien has been another name repeatedly linked with a move in the French press. The expectation is that loan opportunities are more likely to become available as the deadline on February 1 approaches.

Everton will also continue to monitor the emerging talent market for players aged 17 to 21, seen as a potentially key tranche of their future business. But they are hamstrung there, too, by a lack of finance.

Last week, they had the United States Under-23 international Brandan Craig of Philadelphia Union on trial with a view to a potential move, but a decision not been made on the centre-back’s future. Craig had spent time with Everton’s under-21 side and watched the first team’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa at Goodison Park.

In other words, everything remains as it was.

This has been a slow window across the board, but expect more movement as next week’s deadline approaches.