Everton journalist Phil Kirkbride has been sharing his thoughts on the possibility of the Merseyside club making a move to sign Burnley winger Dwight McNeil before the end of the current summer transfer window.
This comes after Kirkbride made an appearance on a recent episode of the Liverpool Echo’s Everton-themed podcast Royal Blue, where he spoke about a range of topics concerning Rafa Benitez’s side.
On the subject of McNeil, who has been linked with a move to Everton this summer, Kirkbride had this to say about the likelihood of him joining the Toffees this summer.
He said: “Rafa likes Dwight McNeil, but what are we now, less than two weeks to go?
“As far as we know, at this point, as we talk, no bid’s gone in, and I think everybody’s well aware of Everton’s need to get rid of players before they can start thinking about seriously bringing players in.
“It looks difficult at this stage, but of course, everybody knows what a final seven days in the transfer window in the summer can look like.”
TIF Thoughts on a potential move for McNeil from Everton…
As Kirkbride mentioned, the fact that the current summer transfer window is set to close at the end of the month means that Everton will have to get a move on if they are serious in their interest in McNeil and want to bring him to Goodison Park this summer.
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However, it could be argued that Burnley see him as a valuable player and could be reluctant to sell him, which could make it difficult for Everton to sign him before the end of the month.
McNeil managed to score two goals, provide five assists and ultimately earn himself an overall season rating of 6.87/10 for his performances in the Premier League last season for Sean Dyche’s team, according to WhoScored – making him Burnley’s third-highest rated player to start more than three league games, while only Ashley Westwood and James Tarkowski played more minutes in the league than the midfielder.
In our view, given how Everton have already signed the likes of Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend who play on the wings, this says to us that a late move for McNeil may not necessarily be needed.
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