Everton need to change transfer strategy immediately – Michael Ball
The transfer activity of Everton over the past few years has not been something that any club should model themselves on and things have to change.
Last summer was a lot different to that of previous years as Rafael Benitez kept his powder dry, spending just £1.7million on Demarai Gray and bringing in Andros Townsend on a free transfer.
Much more was splashed in January with the Toffees in turmoil as Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson both came in for hefty fees along with the loan signings of Anwar El Ghazi and Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli’s briefly free move.
Michael Ball wants a fresh impetus put on bringing in new players and thinks with Kevin Thelwell and Frank Lampard at the wheel, exactly that could happen.
We’ve had the open chequebook approach before though and we’ve failed so now we’ve got to do things differently,” Ball said to the Liverpool Echo.
“The board have made so many mistakes, transfer window after transfer window, hopefully, they can listen to what Lampard wants and get the signings through the door on the first day so they can get to know the football club and how we work.
“We’ve had panic signings in the past and some of them are still on our books now and we’re paying the price now with a squad that doesn’t have the quality anywhere near where it needs to be.”
Failure
It has been coming for some time now and we perhaps underestimated how disjointed the team had become over the past few years with managers going in and out of Finch Farm like there was no tomorrow.
Last season was a much-needed wake-up call for everyone at the club that they are not invincible from relegation and had it not been for a late burst of results, we’d be having a car boot sale for all of our Premier League-quality players right now.
Thelwell has a major job on his hand as the new director of football but he needs to be absolutely clear that he goes after players Lampard wants and not who the board think might be good.
A team that has been built by one man will always punch above their weight, as we saw with Burnley and Sean Dyche for many years, and this is Everton’s chance to do just that and ensure that they don’t have to endure the nail-biting survival scrap again anytime soon.
In other Everton news, this teenager could be set to leave Goodison Park with Premier League champions Manchester City eager to sign him.
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