Everton may have received transfer boost as Newcastle United appear to move on from Amadou Onana
It has been a pretty bleak week for Everton supporters, with the passing of Bill Kenwright partnered with the news that the Premier League are calling for the Toffees to receive a 12-point deduction.
Reports emerged on Wednesday [The Telegraph, 25 October] that the Premier League has requested that Sean Dyche’s side receive a record punishment for their alleged breach of financial fair play rules, with an independent commission currently investigating the Blues.
But before either of these issues emerged, there were suggestions that the Toffees could be set to lose one of their better players in January, with Newcastle United reportedly considering a move for Amadou Onana as a replacement for Sandro Tonali during his 10-month ban [iNews, 23 October]
The Toffees could be forced to sell the Belgian international should a reasonable offer be made given their dire financial situation at Goodison Park, however, it appears as though Eddie Howe’s side have turned their attentions to other midfield targets.
According to talkSport on Friday (27 October), Newcastle are considering making a loan move for former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves, with a move possible as his current side Al-Ittihad are also owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, who controls Newcastle.
While such a move seemingly has no impact on Everton, it would likely be the only midfield addition made by the Magpies in the January transfer window as they have to monitor their spending due to financial fair play rules.
Therefore, should Newcastle complete a deal for Neves, they would more than likely be ruled out of the hunt for Onana, meaning that Dyche and Everton would be able to keep the 22-year-old midfielder on Merseyside beyond the January transfer window.
There is always the possibility that other clubs could become interested in the Belgian before now and January as the Toffees spent the entirety of the summer window anticipating a bid for Onana that never actually came to fruition.
But the chances of the Everton midfielder lining up in black and white in the coming months seem much less unlikely than it had done earlier this week. However, now that it has been made public that the Toffees would likely have to accept a reasonable offer, other clubs will likely be plotting a move for Onana.
In other Everton news, Vinny O’Connor has revealed that both the Premier League and the Toffees can appeal the Independent Commission’s decision