Everton’s recruitment has been underwhelming during Farhad Moshiri’s tenure in the Goodison Park director’s box.
Too often, transfer decisions have been ill-thought-through, leading to players failing to make an impact and taking up a large portion of the wage bill.
If Everton can survive a relegation battle for the third consecutive season, looking to offload players should be the first thing on Kevin Thelwell’s mind.
Here, Everton News examines three players who should be released at the end of the 2023/24 season.
1. Arnaut Danjuma
Everton’s decision to sign Arnaut Danjuma after he initially snubbed the club in the January window was hugely surprising. Perhaps the 27-year-old’s return to Merseyside is a sign of just how desperate Sean Dyche was to add him to his squad.
Danjuma agreed on a season-long loan from Villarreal; however, The Athletic reports that the agreement doesn’t include a buy option.
The Dutchman has started just five Premier League games and featured 11 times as a substitute. His performance has been fairly underwhelming, with just one goal to his name.
He’s currently out injured and didn’t attend the Portugal training camp, and it does feel like his time at Goodison Park is slowly fizzling out.
2. Andre Gomes
£22million signing Andre Gomes is another who should be allowed to depart come the end of the season.
The 30-year-old, signed in 2019, hasn’t endured a tough time with injury during his five years at Goodison Park and was shipped out on loan last season. There’s a talented player in there somewhere, but things haven’t fallen into place for the Portuguese midfielder.
This season, Gomes has started just one Premier League game and returned to Dyche’s first-team squad for the 3-1 home loss to West Ham United. With just 197 minutes of top-flight football under his belt and his contract ending in just a matter of months, it’s hard to envisage anything other than a Goodison Park departure.
3. Dele Alli
Dele Alli joined Everton in a deal that Sky Sports reported could cost the club in the region of £40million.
Of course, due to his miserable spell at Goodison Park, it’s doubtful that the fee will ever be paid. It’s been a sad story for the 27-year-old, but there can be no hiding from the fact that he will go down as one of the club’s worst-ever signings.
The Athletic suggest the club are open to offering him a deal, but whether this is smart business is certainly up for debate. The Times has suggested the midfielder is on £100,000-a-week, so keeping him would be foolish unless he’s happy to negotiate a significant decrease.
That figure would be better used improving problem areas of Dyche’s squad, with attacking reinforcement likely to be the priority.