Chelsea ponder Wilfried Zaha move as Everton play hard ball over Anthony Gordon
Everton may be about to get a huge boost to their Premier League squad for the coming season as Chelsea have diverted their attention away from Anthony Gordon.
The Blues had been linked with a move for the Toffees star attacker for several weeks, having £43m and £45m bids rejected before reportedly returning with a bid worth £50m plus a further £10m in add-ons.
But with Everton unsure about letting him go due to the structure of the deal and the trouble they’d have finding a replacement, The Athletic have reported on 29 August that a deal is now unlikely.
Further to that, the Evening Standard reported on 28 August that the London club were now eyeing up a move for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha alternatively.
That should bring great relief to the fans of the club, who have been terrified of losing their new-found star to a Premier League rival despite the huge fee on offer.
The money being offered was definitely enough and no Everton fans would have been unhappy had a deal gone through, but the concern was simply based off the fact there was no idea about who would come in to replace him on such short notice.
Plenty of names have been linked with a move, but genuine links are hard to come by and the club’s transfer business so far this summer has seen relatively limited spending for the most part.
While the money would have been welcomed, whether it would have been spent adequately is questionable. Right now, Gordon is the glue in the attack and if he left it would no doubt bring big problems to Frank Lampard’s squad.
With one more game before the deadline strikes, it seems as though Lampard now knows what will happen with his squad and plans can be made to strengthen further before 11pm on Thursday.
A midfielder or two are needed plus another attacker, but it’s a huge benefit to Everton and Lampard to know that Gordon is now more likely to be staying put at Goodison Park for the first half of this season at least.
Fans will be delighted to hear that the academy man is sticking around, despite the money he would have brought in, and all focus can now go to getting more points on the board ahead of what is likely to be another tough campaign.