Everton must avoid Harry Maguire transfer at all costs as transfer news emerges
Everton need more new faces in the door this summer if they are to have any hope of a successful Premier League season.
The Toffees have already brought in Ashley Young and Arnaut Danjuma this summer, with a deal for Sporting Lisbon’s Youssef Chermiti almost complete [BBC Sport, 8 August].
Manager Sean Dyche could now add another summer signing in the form of Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire, with Everton considering a move for the 30-year-old [The Independent, 7 August].
He shouldn’t, however, be an option that the Toffees need to consider at this moment in time. First and foremost, funds are obviously tight at Goodison Park, with Young brought in on a free transfer and Danjuma arriving on loan.
Manchester United and England defender Maguire will not come cheap, as West Ham have found out in the current transfer window.
Secondly, whatever money is available at the Merseyside club should definitely be spent on improving other areas, with Everton not exactly lacking in central defence compared to other positions on the pitch.
Dyche has lost Conor Coady and Yerry Mina this summer, but one of those places has already been filled by the returning Jarrad Branthwaite.
Michael Keane and James Tarkowski look certain to be the starting duo anyway, with the likes of Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate able to provide back-up.
Importantly, the Toffees proved last season that defence is not an area in which they are particularly struggling, with seven other clubs finishing with a worse goals conceded tally in the top flight last time out, as per the official Premier League website.
It was indeed the goals scored column that they struggled with as only Wolves (31) found the net fewer times than Everton (35) last season, as per the official Premier League website.
Moreover, the signature of Magure could go one of two ways, with Everton fans hoping that the defender is ready to hit the ground running and impress under a new manager with a fresh start if he does move to the Toffees.
But the other scenario is perhaps equally likely, where the England international struggles on and off the pitch after a lengthy saga which ended with a disappointing exit from the Red Devils, having been stripped of the captaincy before leaving.
In other Everton news, the Toffees have been hit by a summer transfer blow as one Goodison-linked ace heads elsewhere.