Everton may face fight to keep Amadou Onana this January after latest Premier League ban
Everton have always been likely to face interest from other Premier League clubs in January for some of their brighter prospects, given their financial situation.
Funds are short at Goodison Park and that is likely to remain the case until 777 Partner’s takeover is approved, if it is allowed to advance, and that has left the Toffees open to losing their best players, as was the case with Alex Iwobi this summer.
One player that is likely to garner plenty of interest is Amadou Onana with the Belgian targeted by several clubs in the summer transfer window, with Manchester United named as one of the teams interested in the midfielder [David Ornstein, 2 November].
Everton were believed to be willing to sell Onana had the price been right. Another club that has been reportedly interested in signing the Belgian this January were Newcastle United as they looked to strengthen their midfield following Sandro Tonali’s recent ban [iNews, 23 October].
The other proposed target for Eddie Howe’s side had been a loan deal for Ruben Neves, but that switch no longer appears to be possible as Premier League clubs look to fast-track a ban on players making temporary switches between associated clubs [The Athletic, 8 November].
Newcastle United and Al Hilal, Neves’ current club, are associated due to their connections with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, meaning that should the ban be placed in the coming weeks, the Portuguese midfielder would not be able to make the switch to St James’ Park.
That would mean that Newcastle would have to pay a considerable transfer fee to secure Neves’ services permanently, something they are unlikely to do in January given their own financial fair play restrictions having spent heavily in recent windows.
The ban could well see them return to the drawing board as they look to strengthen their midfield at the beginning of 2024 and they could be inclined to make a move for Onana and profit from Everton’s own financial struggles.
Sean Dyche will be reluctant to lose one of his brightest stars in his side, but it is unlikely that the Toffees would have changed their approach from the summer that the 22-year-old is available for the right price.
Unless 777 Partners’ takeover is completed before the January transfer window, it feels as though Everton will be powerless to stop Onana heading to the North East if Newcastle make a move for him. Especially now that the option of Neves is seemingly off of the table.
In other Everton news, 777 Partners have not declared £480 million worth of losses according to one report