Andy Gray and Richard Keys baffled by Everton transfer move for Vitaly Mykolenko
Richard Keys and Andy Gray are baffled by the signing of Vitaly Mykolenko at Everton after the Ukrainian left-back arrived on Merseyside on Saturday.
Everton didn’t wait around to complete their first signing of the January transfer window on 1 January as Mykolenko, 22, was snapped up from Dynamo Kyiv.
Keys and Gray feel as though the transfer is puzzling, especially as the Blues already have Lucas Digne.
It’s been widely reported that there’s been a falling out between Rafa Benitez and Digne, but the two former Sky Sports hosts feel that Digne needs to be kept on and the money should’ve been spent in the attack.
“Vitaly Mykelonko, £18.5million to replace one of the best left-backs in the Premier League,” said Keys, as shown in a clip on the beIN SPORTS Twitter account on Sunday.
“If I’m an Evertonian, I’m scratching my head and saying, ‘why have we spent money on him, when we had arguably better?’.”
Gray replied to say: “Well it’s a very good question that only Rafa Benitez can answer. I’ve no idea why.”
After that, Keys asked Gray another question. “It’s not the priority, is it,” he asked.
Gray replied to say: “Never in a million years, unless the fallout between Digne and Benitez has been so fractious.
“I don’t know how it’s happened. I don’t know why it happened. I don’t know why Lucas Digne has been frozen out, I really don’t.
“I know a lot of people at Everton, as you know, but trying to find out why has been really difficult.
“They need goals, they need players who could win football matches for them. [Mykolenko] could save football matches, probably, at left-back but he’s not going to win them.
“But you have one of the best left-backs in the country playing for you and you want rid of him so you can bring in a kid who’s untried at this level, untried in this league.
“To be a match-winner? I don’t see it.”
Do they live under a rock?
Whether you want Digne to stay or not, it looks as though he’s on his way out of the club because of an unfixable relationship with Benitez.
Rafa is known to fall out with players in his career as a manager and one of the reasons why James Rodriguez left in 2021 was probably down to not getting on with the Spaniard in their time at Real Madrid together.
Benitez and Digne have fallen out, the manager has the final say on transfers now and he wants Digne out.
Digne could raise us a lot of money because, as Keys and Gray say, he’s one of the best left-backs in the country.
And we think it’s unfair of them to write off Mykolenko as though he’s not good enough for us when this is a player who’s played regularly against top teams in the Champions League.
Mykolenko is a welcome signing but it does mean that Digne needs to go just so we don’t break any Financial Fair Play rules.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are watching three players in one position ahead of the January window
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