Two positions Everton must strengthen in January
According to The Sun, Marco Silva’s days at Goodison Park might be numbered. The ex-Watford boss arrived for training last week with his future hanging by a thread.
Everton have dropped down to 17th in the table and have managed only 4 wins in the first 14 games. The 14 goals they have scored is the third-lowest in the league, only behind Newcastle and bottom-placed Watford.
After a disappointing start to the season, Everton did manage to get the better of West Ham at home mid-October but they faltered again, picking up only 7 points from the next 6 games. The recent losses to Norwich and Leicester City have once again put question marks on the future of Marco Silva.
The Toffees endured a mixed transfer window. While they managed to get in Moise Kean and Alex Iwobi to bolster the attack, they also added Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin to fill in for midfield dynamo Idrissa Gueye, who departed to PSG.
They also turned Andre Gomes’ loan deal to a permanent one and brought in Djibril Sidibe temporarily to challenge Seamus Coleman. At present, they have a deeper squad than the previous season. But the problem for Everton and Silva, however, has been that their depth looks shallower and shallower as the weeks pass.
Every team suffers from injuries but Everton’s casualty list – and the extent of those problems – does make it seem like they have been dealt a particularly rough hand.
With Andre Gomes suffering from a season-long injury and Gbamin out until January, their options in the centre of the park look slim. Delph’s troubled hamstring has meant that the Toffees have just three senior players in the position.
Morgan Schneiderlin has failed to nail his position in the team whereas Tom Davies has been unable to put in shifts in the centre of the park consistently. The absence of Gueye is hurting Everton badly.
Come January, Marco Silva must look for a midfield enforcer and a backup centre back in order to get their season on track and avoid relegation.
In fact, now it is clearer with each day as to why Silva had asked the club to make a late move for Abdoulaye Doucouré. With Watford rooted to the bottom of the table, the club must try to sign him in January.
Everton’s centre-back options are as perilously thin as their midfield options. Yerry Mina and Michael Keane have started the majority of the matches but the only other centre-back they have is youngster Mason Holgate. Thus, Silva should look at signing a defender as the club are locked in a relegation battle.
Everton must either try securing loan deals for players or look for solid bargain deals. Thus, to get out of this precarious situation, the Toffees must sign a couple of important players in January.
