Everton owners must make statement with Richarlison replacement signing
It seems likely that we’ll have an answer on the Everton ownership saga in the coming weeks, but whoever is in charge has already been given their biggest job of the summer.
The £60m sale of Brazilian forward Richarlison was confirmed on Friday morning [July 1], a deal that has given manager Frank Lampard some money to work with for the remainder of the summer to build his squad.
But until the boss knows who he is answering to in the boardroom, it will be difficult to make concrete plans with budgets and therefore targets become tough to identify.
Reports emerged on the same morning that there is interest in bringing Jesse Lingard to the club as part of those rebuild plans, but reaction online suggests that will be nowhere near enough.
Those reactions are correct too, because there are plenty of things that Lingard is but a replacement for Richarlison is simply not one of them.
With the Brazilian leaving Everton, it means the future of Dominic Calvert-Lewin now looks more secure with the club unlikely to sell both key players in the same window, but a replacement is absolutely top priority now.
It provides the opportunity for the owners this summer, whether that still be Farhad Moshiri or prospective new owner Maciek Kaminski to make a real impression on fans and show their intent.
The new man is reportedly keen to takeover the club within the next three weeks [Independent, June 30] and has promised money to spend in the January window but the type of targets that are looked at will show what his plans are.
But if the takeover doesn’t happen and Moshiri stays, he can prove his commitment to the fans too by spending money again and ensuring an adequate replacement is found.
Considering the struggles of the club with the 25-year-old in the squad during the 2021/22 season, there are big changes needed for the new campaign. That means money will need to be spent, directly on a replacement and elsewhere.
So far it’s just James Tarkowski who has joined, with a free transfer deal set to be confirmed, but it’s still early. A few more weeks of uncertainty are likely to follow while the ownership situation is sorted, but then the club must move quickly.
At that point there needs to be a major statement and quickly, to get fans on side and prove that Everton have no intentions of returning to a relegation battle once again.
It will be the perfect way for the owner, whoever he is, to get the fans behind him and for the club to move forward together and push for better things.