The Liverpool Echo’s head of sport David Prentice has claimed that signing a midfielder is a “huge priority” for Everton in the next transfer window.
During the summer window, the Toffees sealed the arrival of three midfielders to bolster the first-team squad (per Transfermarkt).
Carlo Ancelotti recruited Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford for £19.89m, Allan from Napoli for £22.5m and James Rodriguez from Real Madrid on a free transfer.
This has left Everton’s first-team squad looking bloated in the middle of the park, with as many as nine players natural to positions through the centre of midfield.
In the latest episode of the Liverpool Echo’s Royal Blue: The Everton FC Podcast, though, Prentice claimed that the Toffees’ midfield needed more work.
He said: “It is a huge priority, yeah. When everybody is fit and available and we’re seeing a first-choice midfield unit out, you’ve got a fair degree of confidence, but the deficiencies in the squad depth are laid bare at times.
“It’s moments like this that you want to see players come in and absolutely stake a real claim and say, ‘Look, you can’t leave me out in future,’ and we haven’t seen that.
“So, yeah, we won’t be seeing anything in January because the manager’s already said that, but he will be looking to bring in more players in the summer.
“The lesser-spotted [Jean-Philippe] Gbamin apart, midfield does look like an area that we may well be looking to bring in one or two players.
“The players that will be left by the wayside can’t really complain about that.”
TIF Thoughts on what David Prentice said about Everton’s midfield…
As can be seen in what the reporter had to say, he believes that Ancelotti will be looking to improve his midfield further during the summer transfer window this year.
Do Everton still need improvements in midfield?
No, they're not needed
Yes, we're still weak there
So far this season, the three midfielders which Everton acquired in the previous transfer market have proven their worth as they have been some of the Toffees’ best performers.
In the Premier League, Rodriguez has been the club’s best-performing player, while Allan and Doucoure have been the eighth and ninth-best performers respectively (per WhoScored).
Meanwhile, players like Andre Gomes and Tom Davies have been poor, with the former being Everton’s seventh-worst performer and the latter the ninth-worst in the squad.
So, that would certainly suggest that there is still work to do for Ancelotti in midfield.