The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland has been discussing Everton’s ‘aim’ during the current transfer window.
During the 2019/20 season, the Toffees signed six players permanently and one on loan. Of those seven players, only three were under the age of 24 (per Transfermarkt).
Furthermore, the Toffees released four players on free transfers and sold five players for transfer fees. Of those nine players, five were under the age of 24.
So, in the latest episode of The Athletic’s Gwlad Tidings podcast, Boyland discussed the club’s ‘aim’ to sign younger players this summer.
He said: “I just think the overall aim is to recruit younger players, to reduce the age of the squad.
“Sometimes that means that you need to give those lads a bit more time to grow and develop because they’re not the finished article.
“I don’t think any of the players Everton signed, with the exception of Fabian Delph, in 2019/20, in the summer, would be what you would class as the finished article.
“[Alex] Iwobi isn’t, Moise Kean isn’t; they should grow over time.
“What’s happened, obviously, is that things have gone slightly askew and slightly awry, and that has placed more emphasis on this summer.”
TIF Thoughts…
While Boyland stated that Everton did not sign players who were the “finished article” last summer they did sign Jonas Lossl, Delph, Djibril Sidibe on loan and Andre Gomes permanently who were all 25 years old or above at the time of their signing.
Would you like to see Everton focus more on signing exciting, young prospects?
No, we need more quality
Yes, would be a good strategy
However, with 19-year-old Niels Nkounkou having been the first and only signing of the Carlo Ancelotti era so far, perhaps we will begin to see a greater preference towards younger players.