Everton’s £235k-a-week three might leave the stadium in a major way.
Everton are struggling to keep themselves in the Premier League, and they could be without some key men in the near future.
- Everton’s recent struggles in the Premier League have raised concerns about the club’s transfer business and their ability to retain top players.
- Sean Dyche’s side could be forced to cash in on some of their key players, just like they did with Anthony Gordon to Newcastle.
- A trio of Everton stars in particular could be the next three big names to leave Goodison Park in the near future.
Everton have endured a tough start to the 2023/24 Premier League seasons with the club only picking up seven points from their opening eight league games. Sean Dyche has a tough task on his hands to help steer them clear of relegation as he did on the very last day of the previous season with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
A big issue fans and pundits have had with the Toffees in recent years is the transfer business done with the club previously known for bringing in lesser-known talents and developing them into very good Premier League quality players. This hasn’t really been the case since David Moyes left the club to take over at Manchester United over a decade ago now.
Since then, it has been quite a dramatic change in fortunes despite a couple of promising signs under Roberto Martinez in the Spaniard’s first years at Goodison Park. Very little business has been done in terms of incoming transfers in the past 12 months – and we’re sorry to say Everton fans – but there is an increasing chance that some of the best players from the team could jump from a seemingly sinking ship.
We have decided to take a look at three top stars that could look to move on from the Merseyside club in the coming transfer windows.
The man that secured Premier League football for Everton in the aforementioned final day win over the Cherries in 2022/23, could be set to seek pastures new after the conclusion of the current season. Doucoure is currently the joint top goalscorer in the team for the season with the same number as centre-forward, Dominic Calvert-Lewin which shows his importance to the team with his ability to get into the box at the right time and find the back of the net.
With such impressive performances in the engine room, the Mali international will no doubt have many admirers within not only the English top flight, but across Europe. This becomes an issue for Everton as their current financial struggles will limit their wage budget and make it almost impossible to compete with the salary some clubs would be willing to offer.
An even bigger issue for the club is that there is a very real possibility that they would lose their main man in midfielder for absolutely no transfer fee as his contract is set to expire at the end of the current season, per Transfermarkt. Among several other players to have entered the final year of their deals, Doucoure would be the biggest loss out of the lot.
Branthwaite has made his way into Dyche’s plans at Goodison Park as he featured in six of their eight opening games, and he has been one of the very few bright sparks in those matches. A solid defender that is very good in the air is exactly what a number of top teams are in desperate need of and Branthwaite represents exactly that.
The young centre-back had a very impressive loan spell in the Netherlands with PSV in the last campaign in which he played 34 times and even scored four goals, proving he can also be a threat in the opponent’s penalty area as well as solid in his own.
It has to be pointed out that Branthwaite was signed up to new terms as he agreed to a long-term contract in October 2023, but this may just be a case of protecting his value with bigger clubs starting to sit up and take note of his performances. It was reported by the Daily Mail very recently that a January move to Manchester United was on the cards, but the new contract could push this back significantly.
As has been the case for a long time now, if one of the ‘top six’ clubs in the Premier League want a player enough, they will make the move happen with their embarrassment of riches. Everton were a club that used to be able to resist big money offers as they did on many occasions with the likes of Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini in years gone by. This is not the case anymore as a significant offer will help them out greatly.
After a long road to getting fit, the English striker has said in an interview with the club website: “The fire has been lit again,” as he has found the ability to get onto the pitch more often at the start of the 2023/24 season. As they say – the best ability is availability – and when Calvert-Lewin manages to get himself on the pitch, he is undoubtedly talented enough to make an impact.
Time certainly flies as the 26-year-old has now been an Everton player for seven years, being part of many different sides under several different managers. He started life on Merseyside as a support act to Romelu Lukaku as he was utilised in wide areas a lot of the time as a teenager that was hard-working and willing to sacrifice for the team.
As he has matured and grown as a player over the years, Calvert-Lewin has seen himself become the main talisman at the club despite only managing to score 63 goals in more than 200 appearances. While that doesn’t come across as the record of a clinical Premier League goalscorer, it has to be taken into consideration that the players around him have been struggling in that time also.
It may depend on whether Dyche keeps the team in the top flight, but a move could be on the cards for the England international should he manage to keep himself fit and get into a good rhythm. All teams can benefit from a reliable striker and while a move to one of the top sides may not be a viable option, but a mid-table side such as a Brentford may be in the market for a player of his profile with an Ivan Toney-shaped hole expected to appear in their team.Earning a combined £235k-a-week as per Spotrac, Everton would do well to keep hold of the likes of Doucoure, Branthwaite and Calvert-Lewin, especially given the kind of difficult Premier League seasons they have endured over the past couple of years. If Dyche were to lose any of them, much less all three, the Toffees boss certainly won’t be a happy camper.
