Everton fans right to be worried on deadline day amid Farhad Moshiri transfer promise – Sky Sports
Everton fans are “right to be” worried about how the club’s deadline day is shaping up despite a promise from Farhad Moshiri for a striker, according to Vinny O’Connor.
The embattled Toffees chairman had promised a forward in the transfer window, when he told the fan advisory board before the defeat to West Ham on 21 January, via the Liverpool Echo: “We need a striker, and we will get one. We strengthen the team and I have no doubt the second half of the season will be stronger. Any deficiency in team performance will be dealt with – that is the objective. The objective will be achieved, together.”
But with the deadline now fast approaching on the final day, nobody up front nor anywhere else has been brought in, and Sky Sports reporter O’Connor didn’t have much hope to offer the supporters despite the caveat that arrivals can’t yet be fully ruled out.
Speaking live on Sky Sports News from Finch Farm on Tuesday (31 January, 4.22pm) he was asked if fans were starting to get worried and said: “Yeah, and they are right to be I suppose. Don’t forget Farhad Moshiri promised them in an interview with the fans’ advisory board that they would get a striker in before the transfer deadline.
“That hasn’t happened so far, and you could argue Everton needed a couple of attacking reinforcements in before they let Anthony Gordon go, and still they are [yet] to sign someone in this transfer window.”
He then ruled out Kamaldeen Sulemana, Viktor Gyokeres, Andre Ayew, Thorgan Hazard, Sheraldo Becker and Paul Onuachu as “all players who won’t be coming to Everton today”.
He went on: “I’m also told not to rule out any signings at Everton today, but obviously that clock is ticking and time is running out for Everton to make sure that their squad doesn’t end the transfer window weaker than it was when it started.”
Not good enough
The interview where Moshiri promised the reinforcements of course took place before he sacked Frank Lampard, which not only opened the door for the Arnaut Danjuma loan to fall through, but looks like it now might have put an end to any arrivals.
Sean Dyche was finally appointed on 30 January, and while he was surely having some input before that it has given him little more time than Lampard had a year ago.
In contrast to the pair of quick deals for Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli that were secured that time around, the new manager has so far seen every pursuit fall short.
Clearly, as the hours tick down it won’t just be Everton who are getting desperate so doors could yet open for something to happen before 11pm.
However, the chances that it will be a sensible move and not a last-minute consolation reduce with every minute that passes.
The Toffees were already in trouble when the Premier League broke for six weeks as the World Cup took place through November and December, so the hierarchy should have been lining up moves from then.
For it to even get this far, the final hours of the window, with absolutely nobody brought in and yet one of the, admittedly underperforming, big names now gone is staggering.
Dyche has been dropped in the deep end at Goodison Park, and barring a major turnaround tonight he is going to have an uphill battle on his hands from the get-go.