Duncan Castles has been speaking on the latest edition of The Transfer Window Podcast, and has been talking about transfers concerning Premier League clubs.
One team that he spent some time on was Everton, and in particular, he spoke about what the Toffees’ purported move for Allan means for Carlo Ancelotti.
Allan was expected to arrive on Merseyside on Wednesday ahead of a £21.7m move, with Napoli’s president confirming he had ‘said his goodbyes’ this past weekend.
It seems as if Castles believes that the Toffees signing Allan is a sign that they are prepared to back Ancelotti and let him rebuild the squad with the players he wants.
He said: “They’re supporting the manager, who as we said when we talked about that [Allan] deal being in place for Everton, it’s a signal that Ancelotti’s public pressure he was putting on Everton’s ownership to come up with the goods that they convinced him to come to the club with last season – which was, ‘you will be given money to rebuild, and you’ll be given a restructure which allows you to have a go for European football’ – they’re acting on that.
“So, I think it’s a very positive sign for Carlo Ancelotti.”
Do you agree with Castles?
Yes, the board are backing Ancelotti
No, they could be doing more
TIF Thoughts…
As well as Allan being close to joining the Toffees, the club are also nearing the signing of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid, so it is clear that Ancelotti is getting players he is familiar with.
Brazilian midfielder Allan made 61 appearances for Ancelotti at Napoli and Rodriguez has made 51 appearances for the Italian.
So, we agree with Castles’ point that this is a good sign and it shows that Everton are prepared to support their manager, who has won three Champions League titles as manager.
It will be intriguing to see who else will move to Goodison Park after Allan and Rodriguez should their moves be completed as expected.