James McFadden delivers verdict on Everton January window
James McFadden has suggested that Everton need more players in January after the Toffees suffered a 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa in the Premier League clash on Saturday (22 January).
In Duncan Ferguson’s first game in charge as caretaker boss, the performance slightly improved but the same old trend continued.
A first-half goal from Emiliano Buendia sealed the tie for Villa. Everton have now picked up just one win in 14 league games.
McFadden has raised some valid questions while commentating on the game for BBC Sport on Saturday (22 January). He said:
“[The January transfer window] is a tough one for Everton. There is no head of recruitment, no permanent manager, there is no scout, so how do they bring players in?
“They need players, they need reinforcements. Especially in the midfield area. We are nearly at the end of January and they need to bring players in.
“The managers they are speaking to have to have these questions. Does that mean a manager has to be appointed sooner rather than later, or does Duncan Ferguson get given the chance to bring in his own players and be given a contract to the end of the season.”
Spot on
Rafa Benitez signed three players this month.
Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko joined on permanent transfers while Anwar El Ghazi joined from Aston Villa on loan.
However, Rafa didn’t get time to work with his own players as he was sacked following the defeat against Norwich City.
Everton do need to add depth and quality to their side but without any permanent manager and no head of recruitment, there’s no direction at the club, especially when only a few days remain on the transfer window.
McFadden has rightly said that the Toffees need players in midfield but at the moment it looks unclear who is going to sign players for the club.
The club needs to make a decision, and at the earliest. Either Duncan Ferguson needs to be given time, at least till the end of the season to bring players of his choice, or the club must appoint a permanent manager in the next few days. The current situation is not ideal.
In other Everton news, ‘How?’ – Don Hutchison ‘stunned’ by major Everton manager update this week