Michael Ball claims Everton must fix past transfer mistakes
Former Everton defender Michael Ball believes the club should prioritise fixing a £50million mistake once the summer transfer window opens.
The Athletic reported in March that the Blues would concentrate on landing a new right-back in the summer while the Liverpool Echo recently revealed the club’s intention to sign a winger.
Carlo Ancelotti spoke last month about wanting “two or three” marquee signings as he looks to continue pushing his side towards Champions League qualification.
Speaking in his column for the Liverpool Echo, Ball made clear the steps that Everton must take in the summer as they look to shift players in order to fund better talent.
Ball said: “I think right-wing is going to be important for us in the next transfer window.
“Everton need to get Seamus Coleman a new contract, find his long-term replacement and then get someone to play in front of them. Theo Walcott, Bernard, Alex Iwobi. We brought them all in but they have failed to deliver.
“We have spent a lot of money – more than £50m in fees and wages – in that position but no-one has taken their opportunity. Iwobi is on the bench one week, comes on and does well for 20 minutes, but then struggles to find consistency. That isn’t good enough.
“He’s here to create opportunities and score goals. How often has he done that? It’s as simple as that. It’s nothing against him or his attitude but he needs to be doing his main job: scoring goals and making chances.
“We have had a lot of injuries over the season and he still hasn’t been able to force himself into the starting XI. That shows Carlo Ancelotti cannot trust him or doesn’t know what you are going to get out of him.
“We can’t have players like that at Everton, we need players to take us to the next level.”
Lengthy process
When Ancelotti was appointed as Marco Silva’s successor we all knew that it would take time for Everton to fully revamp their squad.
The Italian was never likely to make wholesale changes immediately; it’s a step by step process, and it will gradually see the Toffees form a squad that complies with the personal specifications that the Italian manager is looking for.
Getting rid of deadwood and other unneeded talent is a major part of that, with previous managerial regimes having made plenty of mistakes over the seasons.
Whether or not Ancelotti sees Iwobi as a drain on resources or as someone desperate for some confidence who just needs a chance is anyone’s guess, but the lack of game time that the winger has received doesn’t exactly bode well for his long-term future on Merseyside.
If Everton can shift players this summer to free up more space on the salary budget it could lead to better summer recruits, and in turn, better opportunities to qualify for Europe in the coming seasons.
In other Everton news, Big Duncan Ferguson has sent a hilarious video message to an Everton fan who is slacking off school.
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