Everton’s Silva Lining: Part 2

Following on from Marco Silva and Marcel Brands’ (Director of Football) pursuit of new talent over the summer, Everton Football Club look rejuvenated and bolstered for the season ahead.

This transfer window, with the majority of deals being completed on deadline day, Everton recruited the following as additions to their squad:

·       Yerry Mina (DEF, 5.5)

·       Lucas Digne (DEF, 5.0)

·       Kurt Zouma (DEF, N/A)

·       Richarlison (MID, 6.5)

·       Bernard (MID, 6.0)

·       Andre Gomes (MID, 5.5)

Defensive Options:

Lucas Digne (5.0) was the first one to walk through the doors at Finch Farm, who looks set to challenge Leighton Baines (5.5) for the left-back spot at Everton.

With Baines’ place in the side potentially at threat, set pieces could then be presumably shared between Cenk Tosun (7.0) or Gylffi Siggurdsson (7.5) on penalty duties with the latter potentially on free kicks, making the Icelandic man a sought after midfielder, as well as adding another string to Tosun’s bow as an FPL asset.

The next man to follow Digne to Goodison Park from Barcelona was centre-back, Yerry Mina (5.5). With the lack of any real talent in this position, Mina looks to be nailed once match-fit for the Blues.

I believe his price-tag of 5.5 (equal to Seamus Coleman) is certainly warranted due to the 6”5 man’s aerial presence and goal threat, which was evident with his performances for Columbia at the World Cup.

Once the transfer window was over, Everton still managed to get another centre-back deal over the line, this time on loan, with Kurt Zouma (N/A) joining from Chelsea. Zouma is yetto be priced in the game yet, but it is estimated that he will be at the 5.0 mark, challenging Michael Keane (5.0) for the centre-back spot to play alongside the highly-rated Yerry Mina (5.5).

The Zouma signing adds further guesswork to the Everton back-four conundrum in FPL terms, although certainly bolsters the Toffees’ defence. It could be argued that although Zouma’s addition to the side does not look appealing in the short term for managers, it adds appeal to those maybe looking at the likes of the nailed defensive options, such as; Mina (5.5), Coleman (5.5), and Pickford (5.0) – in goal.

Attacking Options:

The third of three Catalan signings for Everton was the capture of central midfielder Andre Gomes (5.5) from Barcelona.

Everton have been crying out for a box-to-box midfielder who can carry the ball forward to play alongside and compliment the defensive capabilities of Idrissa Gueye for some time, and Gomes (5.5) could be the man to do so.

The Portuguese’s addition to Everton is great for the team overall and will help other FPL assets such as Bernard (6.0), Richarlison (6.5) and Sigurdsson (7.5) greatly, but it is hard to see him featuring as an FPL asset himself, purely due to how deep he’ll be playing in the Blues’ midfield.

Another signing for Everton came in the form of Bernard (6.0). The 5”5 man was bought on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The versatile Brazilian could play in all three positions in behind Tosun (7.0) for Everton, although with Richarlison, securing the left-wing spot and Sigurdsson looking to nail down the No. 10 role, it looks probable that Bernard will fight for his position in the Everton side on the right-wing.

With competition in this position from the likes of Ademola Lookman (5.5) and Theo Walcott (6.5), game-time may be shared, although with a good run in the side it could be interesting to see how he performs.

Finally, after a manic summer transfer window for Everton, Richarlison (6.5) was the headline act – rejoining Marco Silva for a whopping £50m. His price-tag looks justified so far with the Brazilian scoring both of Everton’s goals in their 2-2 draw in GW1 to newcomers Wolves.

Strongest Starting XI: (4-2-3-1)

Pickford

Coleman Mina Zouma Digne

Gueye Gomes

Bernard Sigurdsson Richarlison

Tosun

Although this eleven did not start against Wolves on Saturday, due to late arrivals, this is an idea of Everton’s strongest side for the 2018/2019 season.