Everton have brought back Tyrique George as a permanent player – and could potentially follow him up with Anan Khalaili.
Fans were left pleased earlier this week as the Toffees swooped to sign George after his loan spell last season.
Mahrez has just left Al-Ahli… should Everton sign him on a free? 👀
In the end, Everton renegotiated with Chelsea, and have paid £18 million up front for the youngster, with £6 million to come via add-ons.
But Everton are in the market for more wide players, amid the uncertainty over Jack Grealish at the moment. It is also likely that Dwight McNeil will go.
Anan Khalaili is now a target for Everton, according to TEAMtalk, although there is very strong competition for him,
But just who is Khalaili, and would he be a good fit at Everton?
Who is Anan Khalaili?
Anan Khalaili was born in Haifa, Israel, on 3 September 2004, making him 21 years old.
He comes from a footballing family, with his father Majdi Khalaily being a former goalkeeper and also manager. His brother Iyad plays for Maccabi Haifa.
Khalaili started out at Beitar Haifa, spending a couple of years there before moving to Maccabi Haifa. During his time there, he had a loan spell with FC Neve Yosef, and scored a very impressive 25 goals in 24 matches.
He had been due to spend two seasons with them, but after such a great spell Maccabi took him back early.
His first-team debut for Maccabi would come in February 2022.
Khalaili showed great development and in 2024, Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise came calling.
To date, he’s made 99 appearances for them, scoring eight goals and providing 11 assists for teammates.
Khalaili has actually been relatively successful on the silverware front so far in his career, having won the Israel Super Cup with Maccabi and the league title with Union, as well as two domestic cups with the Belgian side.
Khalaili also has some international pedigree, having played for Israel 16 times. He is yet to score for his country.
What is Anan Khalaili like as a player and would he fit Everton?
Khalaili, who is 6ft 0in, is best known for his explosive acceleration and high work rate.
While he is versatile and can play on both flanks, he tends to mostly play from the right side.
Interestingly, he played mainly as a winger for Maccabi, but for Union he has operated a lot as a wing-back due to the system that they play.
Of course, Everton don’t tend to play with wing-backs, although we’ve seen Moyes make that switch in games a couple of times.
So it would be very intriguing to see where he’d fit in if Everton did move to sign him – surely he would play as a winger again and not at right-back in a four.
Amid Inter Milan also being keen, Gazetta dello Sport provide some insight into his play style, saying that Khalaili ‘presses intensely and relentlessly tracks back opponents’. This is bound to go down well with Moyes.
It is also stated that Khalaili ‘relishes starting wide, receiving the ball in one-on-one situations, and launching sudden attacks’, and that ‘his acceleration over the first few metres is the quality that most impresses’.
Total Football Analysis also suggest Khalaili as a real workhorse, saying of his 2024/25 season: “Anan Khalaili has demonstrated a consistently strong season characterised by outstanding defensive intensity.
“Khalaili has progressed well in one-on-one duels and consistently records strong numbers in interceptions, recoveries, and aerial battles, reflecting his ability to read the game and cover ground intelligently.”
Quite possibly, he is a player Moyes would really like.
How much could Khalaili cost?
TEAMtalk suggest Inter have actually already made an offer of around £17 million for Khalaili.
However, this won’t be enough. TEAMtalk say they’ve been told by sources that £25.6 million is the asking price from Union Saint-Gilloise.
It remains to be seen if Everton will be tempted to go near this figure. But Khalaili certainly seems to have a high ceiling, and very much feels like a Moyes-type player.
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