Everton were the busiest side on deadline day, especially late on as they confirmed 5 deals in the final hour of the window. In the end, the Big Belgian Marouane Fellaini followed former manager Moyes to Manchester United for 27.5mil and striker Victor Anichebe was sold to West Brom for around 6mil. Everton then confirmed the signing of James McCarthy from Wigan for 13mil, followed by the confirmation that Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku and Man City’s Gareth Barry will join the club on loan for the season. Now, was this good business or bad business for Everton? This is my take on the events that took place yesterday.
First we will start off with the outgoings. The big one was obviously the departure of midfielder Marouane Fellaini to Manchester United for 27.5mil. Fellaini will leave a massive hole in the side, not only defensively, but he was also our top scorer from last season, and someone is going to have to cover the 13 goals he scored last season. However, 27.5mil was just too good to turn down, especially since a couple weeks ago Man Utd could have bought him for 23mil. With Everton, as usual, not having much money, this money will give Martinez a chance to finally mould this squad into what he thinks is best for Everton. Sad to see the big man leave, and I am sure every Evertonian will wish Fellaini the best of luck in the future.
Another departure was academy graduate Victor Anichebe. It is always sad to see someone who has come through the academy and into the first team leave, however, Anichebe was going to be the 4th choice striker for Everton this season, and 6mil for him represents a good piece of business. Again, Anichebe will leave with the best wishes from the Everton fans.
Now onto the incomings. The big permanent signing was James McCarthy from Wigan for 13mil. This move was hardly a surprise given how much Martinez rates the 22yr old, however, for 13mil, the move has polarised the fan base of Everton. Personally, we may have overspent by 2-3mil, but it is deadline day, and with the departure of Fellaini late on, our hands were tied. I think McCarthy can grow into a top player for Everton, he is only 22yrs old, so he is only going to improve and hopefully he can showcase this at Everton. Personally, he is the type of midfielder we lack, someone who looks for the ball and can move the ball quickly, Everton’s build up play has been painfully slow, and McCarthy, according to the stats, will undoubtedly improve that. Welcome to the club James, hopefully it is the start of a long and successful spell.
Next was the loan signing of Man City midfielder Gareth Barry. It was hardly the most eye catching move on deadline day, but I maintain it could be a very shrewd piece of business by Martinez. People will point to his age, but the way Gareth Barry plays, age should not affect him too much, he was never known for his athletic ability, where he thrived was in reading the game and his positional sense, and that I think will make him a good signing for Everton. He will offer us a bit of protection for the back 4 and hopefully his experience can teach McCarthy a thing or two. Additionally, if the loan deal works out for both sides, given he is in the last year of his contract, the potential of signing him on a free transfer makes the move even more appealing.
Now onto the final move, and probably for Everton fans, the most exciting, the loan signing of Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku. Despite it only being a loan move, it is the perfect addition for Everton as Everton hopefully have solved their striker problem for this season. Lukaku will provide some valuable goals to Everton, something that has been lacking and probably cost Everton a top 4 spot last season. Lukaku, despite only being 19, scored 17 Premier League goals for West Brom last season, to put this into perspective, he scored more goals than all of Everton’s strikers combined last season. I am sure, with some serious money still burning a hole in Everton’s pocket, Everton fans would love to see something more permanent happening, although I unfortunately just can’t see that happening, so I will just enjoy having a striker with the talent of Lukaku gracing the pitch of Goodison.
For me, the deadline day was relatively successful. Everyone will mention the movement that happened on deadline day, but ask many Everton fans, and I am sure they will say that the fact that Leighton Baines remains an Everton player is the best bit of business Everton could have done. Words cannot describe just how important Baines is to this side and the fact that he remains an Everton player is a massive plus. Despite losing Fellaini and Anichebe, we still have strengthened the squad, not to mention, we have potentially found a striker that can score 10-15 goals for Everton (hopefully more) this season, and on top of that, Martinez will hopefully still have a significant kitty come January to spend on further reinforcements. COYB!!!!!
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