Carlo Ancelotti must adhere to Darren Bent’s advice and look to offload Fabian Delph in the summer window should Everton complete a transfer for Watford ace Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The Toffees are believed to be back on the hunt for Doucoure’s signature following the Hornets’ relegation to the Championship, having been unsuccessful in our efforts to add the Frenchman to Marco Silva’s ranks last summer.
Early talks between the two clubs have not been successful for Everton with Watford holding out for £25million, although Doucoure’s preference to stay in the Premier League is expected to see the 27-year-old look fondly on a move to Goodison Park where he would be made one of our joint-highest earners on a £120,000-per-week contract.
Director of Football Marcel Brands is expected to return to Hertfordshire with an improved bid for Doucoure, with Ancelotti adamant our midfield needs to be revamped after a challenging end to the 2019/20 Premier League season.
Bent has suggested that a successful move for Doucoure could pave the end to Delph’s time on Merseyside, as Ancelotti would have plenty of depth elsewhere in the squad should we look to flog the injury-prone £80,000-per-week man a year after his disastrous £10m move from Manchester City.
“Tom Davies is quite young, he’s 22-years-old so he’s young and I think he’ll stay,” Bent told Football Insider.
“[Andre] Gomes is a top player, I like Gomes and Delphy has been a bit too injury prone, so that’s a killer for him.
“You’d have to say out of all the ones that are already there, he [Delph]’s probably the one that moves on.”
Should Ancelotti keep Delph, regardless of signing Doucoure?
Keep
Sell
Delph’s time at Goodison Park began on shaky foundations when he sustained a thigh injury just four minutes into his debut against Werder Bremen in a pre-season friendly, with the issue ultimately keeping the England midfielder sidelined until September.
A run of seven appearances from eight potential Premier League games was then met with another spell out after aggravating a hamstring strain, after which he returned to make the final nine top-flight outings of his campaign before illness and further issues ended his term in March.
Altogether, the former Premier League winner made just 20 outings across all competitions during his debut campaign with Everton and a move away this summer would likely not cause much uproar from the fanbase – especially should we add Doucoure.