Everton are a club plagued by their financial woes, with their efforts to escape the black hole they find themselves in verging on desperate now.
As such, the club have often been forced to offload their outstanding assets to balance the books, with major sales in recent years seeing stars like Richarlison, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Gordon jump ship.
Now, according to iNews, the latest departure could be Amadou Onana, set to follow the path set by the latter of that trio and join up with the 22-year-old at Newcastle United.
Although the report seeks to detail the future of Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips, as one potential target for the Tyneside giants, they suggest that Sean Dyche was ‘prepared to deal’ with those interested in the Belgian over the summer.
They then suggested: ‘Their precarious financial situation may force them to listen to offers again in January.’
Given the Toffees unloaded £33m to tempt Onana to Goodison Park back in 2022, a much loftier fee is expected to pry their star midfielder from their clutches.
How good is Amadou Onana?
To lose the 6 foot 4 maestro would not see them lose another of their most promising assets, but also oversee a key departure of a star in this campaign’s struggles.
Losing Gordon in January marked a huge blow as the academy graduate was their top scorer at the time, and now in Onana, they are set to lose another integral figure from the engine room.
The 22-year-old is both a creative and combative presence, and if the Merseyside outfit is performing well, there is every chance that the former LOSC Lille star is at the heart of it.
As such, he is maintaining an 84% pass accuracy alongside 2.4 tackles, 6.9 ball recoveries and 0.8 key passes per game, as if to emphasise that earlier notion, via Sofascore.
It should therefore come as no surprise that he has been lauded by Roberto Martinez, who noted last year: ‘Someone with such physical presence and dynamism is needed, just think of [Marouane] Fellaini in 2018.
‘He is also a leader on the pitch who has made strides in his career. From Germany, to France and now the Premier League.’
Sanctioning Onana’s departure would mark yet another searing indictment for the failure of those leading the club, who have led them into their current predicament. They cannot continue sacrificing their stars for survival, as it is a game plan that cannot ensure their survival forever.
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