Everton are still looking to sign a new right-back this summer, with fans now starting to get a little concerned.
It has long been reported that right-back is a priority position for the Toffees.
Merlin Rohl officially signs permanently! 🚨 Happy, Everton fans? How do you see him fitting in best?
He has strong competition for minutes in midfield with the likes of Garner, Hackney and KDH… 🤔
But despite links to lots of players, no headway has been made and Everton remain without a new signing.
With Seamus Coleman having left and Nathan Patterson expected to go, the club simply cannot stand by this summer.
And actually, there is one thing The Friedkin Group need to avoid when it comes to this particular signing.
Everton must allocate big money to right-back signing
Put simply, Everton cannot be scrimping on a new right-back this summer.
It is a problem position and has been for some time, and The Friedkin Group therefore have to allocate a fairly sizeable part of the budget to this position.
Now obviously, there might be a player out there who ticks all the boxes and is available for a relatively cheap fee. Brooke Norton-Cuffy, for example, is valued at £17 million, and may well come of interest to Everton again.
And if the club find such a player, then fantastic.
But realistically, it is such an important signing, and Everton must be prepared to spend big.
Worryingly, journalist Patrick Boyland has suggested on The Blue Room podcast that Everton would only want to spend about £20-25 million on a right-back this summer.
He said: “I think really they would have liked to go for Doue.
They would like to have gone back after interest in January and interest in the summer, the last summer. I think really they would have liked to go back for him. But there has been this sense now for a while.
“I think I first mentioned this kind of end of May or early June that Strasbourg tend to sell high, particularly with Blue Co as their owners, the Chelsea owners. If he had a good World Cup, then that might price him a little bit higher still. I don’t think Everton want to spend £40-35 million on a right back.
“I think really they want to be in that sort of 20, 25 bracket maximum, considering what else they’ve got to do.”
If a player is really proven though, then Everton shouldn’t be thinking twice about whether or not to pay the money.
It could potentially be a huge mistake for TFG to scrimp on this particular signing, given how important it is.
Some options admittedly have quite large valuations at the moment.
The likes of Djed Spence, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Guela Doue have all impressed at the World Cup, with each likely to cost over £25 million.
Ben White didn’t play at the World Cup, but is another player with a large valuation. But again, he is a proven Premier League player who could fix a longstanding issue for Everton.
Granted, Everton do have other positions they need to address.
But through player sales and smart negotiations, the club can surely allocate a bit more money to sign a quality right-back who could potentially nail down the position for years to come.
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