In touch’ – Sean Dyche makes early Everton summer transfer window admission
Everton did not sign a single player in the January transfer window.
Everton manager Sean Dyche has revealed that the club is already planning for the summer transfer window in order to improve the squad’s balance.
As they fight for Premier League survival, the Toffees are severely lacking in attacking options. In January, no players were signed, and Anthony Gordon was sold to Newcastle United.
To compound Everton fans’ frustrations, Dominic Calvert-Lewin will again be unavailable for this Saturday’s clash against relegation rivals Leeds United at Goodison Park.
Dyche prepares for his third game as Blues manager after succeeding Frank Lampard and his immediate focus is getting the best out of the players he’s inherited to beat the drop.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Leeds fixture, the former Burnley chief explained why an additional attacking option was not recruited last month.
But plans are afoot ahead of the next window opening. Dyche said: “I’m certainly not deserving of any explanation before my time here because that was a different regime, different people involved. During my time here, I sat here for some 48 hours more or less here all day and night with all the relevant people doing as best as they can.
“What I would say, to share a view of it, you may have well noticed how many strikers are out there, what is the market you’re looking in, how many are out there and are they Premier League ready? You’re not looking at development players because we have that in Simmsy [Ellis Simms] who is learning his trade.
“Let’s have it right, you’re looking at people who can affect it straight away and that’s not an easy market anyway for anyone.
“You have to be honest about the marketplace and your part in it. The hours that people spent, I was here myself, the phonecalls, searching, trawling, looking through angles and possibilities, looking at things that can affect the group – and having the group in mind because there is quality here.
“I can only speak on my time and people worked very hard. Sometimes it’s just simple alignment, it’s not always money. Money often covers a lot of things and solves a lot of problems in life – not just football.
“I came in here with open eyes. I know the squad, the situation and what is within that. It’s going to be a big challenge, there’s no point in trying to mask that.
“Of course, the striker department has got fewer options than you’d like in the Premier League, especially for a club this kind of size and with the expectation of the fans. The squad has s different balance to it that needs readjusting because there are lots of players in certain positions and that often comes from a change in manager. I hope to be here for there not to be a change in manager, obviously, I’ve got to get results to make that happen but I’m trying to align a situation to make it better going forwards.
“Maybe these twists and tweaks have added different players at different times and you end up with this squad that is kind of too many players in one area and not enough in another but we all know that.
“The players have contracts, the players you need to bring in, you have to spend money, you have to bring money in; all of the balance of how the club operates. I’m aware of all that but it takes time.
“The main thing at the moment is to fast-track the side getting the points, winning games and creating the team ethic – and the fans playing their part which they have done already.
“Then further down the road, of course, I’m already talking about what we can do next, what we can open up, and are we already looking – which we, of course, are – exploring many options, exploring possibilities, getting in touch with the right people, getting our scouts working diligently across the board and covering the situation as much as we can so it doesn’t arise again.”
