Sean Dyche blocked late Sunderland loan deal to re-sign Ellis Simms from Everton
Sunderland made a late attempt to re-sign Ellis Simms on loan in January but new Everton boss Sean Dyche blocked the move.
According to a report from The Mirror (page 53, 2 February), the Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray had hoped to sign the 22-year-old striker, who was outstanding on loan for them in the first half of the season.
The striker managed seven goals and two assists in 14 starts in the Championship before he was recalled from his loan spell by Frank Lampard.
Simms managed only 15 minutes of action in the Premier League after returning from his loan spell, but it seems Dyche could use him regularly.
Good decision?
At the moment, it is hard to say right now whether it was a good decision from Dyche.
It feels more like an act of desperation. Ideally, Simms should have stayed at Sunderland for the entire season. If he had scored over 10 goals, he would have returned with loads of confidence.
With the club failing to sign a single player in January, Dyche is left with no other option but to make the best use of all his available resources.
The Toffees are in an absolute mess, and Dyche cannot be blamed.
The club needed to sign a few players and they should have been smart in finding their targets.
They missed out on a whole raft of players this month, and Dyche was left with unrealistic targets.
What will hurt Everton the most is that they have lost a key player in Anthony Gordon without signing a replacement.
The squad is depleted as a result, and Dyche has got the massive task of taking the club to Premier League safety.