Everton have been the busiest English top-flight club by the looks of what has transpired in the ongoing transfer season. They have caught the other clubs napping, having already announced 4 high profile signings among others ready to slot right into the starting eleven, as things stand.
The capture of 21-year-old Sandro Ramirez flew under the radar but should make the hearts of the Toffees flutter with joy. Make no mistake, the La Masia graduate who did not quite make the grade at Barcelona is a treat to behold when on song.
He has been subject to transfer speculation courtesy heavyweights of the likes of Los Blancos and their city-rival, Atletico Madrid. The Spaniard led the lines at Malaga with such élan, it was hard to tell that he isn’t a traditional No. 9. Ramirez scored 14 top-flight goals last season and has carved out a space for himself, alongside illustrious company in Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann highlighting the striker’s prowess at shooting from a distance.
Most goals scored from outside the box in LaLiga 2016/17:
Lionel Messi (9); Antoine Griezmann (5); Sandro Ramírez (5); Mauricio Lemos (4).
Everton has been linked with Olivier Giroud from Arsenal as well and could provide the perfect foil for the Spaniard if used prudently.
Coming to Jordan Pickford, Everton’s club record transfer, eclipsing the £28m paid for Lukaku is another phenomenal talent. Commanding a £30m transfer fee, the 21-year old English goalkeeper has had a superlative season with Sunderland last year and deservedly bagged a PFA Young Player of the Year Award nomination.
Jordan Pickford: Has a better rating (7.13) than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top 5 leagues this term (20+ apps)
In 21-year old Davy Klaassen, Everton have a skilful midfielder with a magnificent passing range having provided 9 assists for Ajax last season, coupled with 14 goals, putting him on top of the pile of midfielders directly involved in scoring most number of goals in the Eredivisie.
Koeman, himself a Dutchman and well versed in the Cruyffian language of football, having trained under the inventor of modern football; it would be unnecessarily garrulous to elaborate on Klaassen being a perfect fit at the blue half of Merseyside.
Last but not the least, the £30m acquisition of Michael Keane from Burnley saw Everton touch the £100m mark. An erstwhile United player, the player opted for a move to Merseyside over Old Trafford, mindful of the fact that The Red Devils bought Sweden defender Victor Lindelof in a record deal (£30m with £10m add-ons), eclipsing the sum paid for Rio Ferdinand. Koeman was delighted with the signing, with the player reportedly within sights of Premier League giants Tottenham and Liverpool.
If nothing else, Everton have certainly shown ambition in the way they have moved to acquire their targets. The question is, will it be enough for Everton to upset the hegemony of the top-6?
The Premier League is ridiculously competitive as it is, compared to the other leagues elsewhere. With lucrative TV deals bridging the gap between the clubs and paying them a windfall to spend, it has only made the League even more competitive than it was.
Everton had substantially improved in the last season as well with Lukaku threatening to walk away with the Golden Boot at one stage, could only finish 7th, a whopping 8 points below Manchester United, who had a rather disappointing league run themselves.
Even with an investment close to £100m and perhaps more to follow, it is going to take a superhuman effort on Everton’s part to break into the top-4. With the likes of Manchester United only managing to finish 6th in the league, leaving a yawning 24-point gap with the league leaders, the road to top-4 this season is going to be as arduous and hard-fought if not more.
Koeman could à la Mourinho prioritise the Europa League in order to gain a back-door entry into Champions League next season. The fact that fighting on all fronts, the Premier League, Europe and the domestic cups is going to be a massive challenge goes without saying.
But never say never with football. Who could have envisioned Leicester winning the League only a couple of seasons back? Not one for predictions, the only one that I am going to make is that the next Premier League season is going to be one of the most enthralling ones yet.
