Everton’s moves in the January window could very well end up having an interesting knock-on effect for the club’s future.
Everton certainly left things late when it came to their business in the transfer window – not just on the pitch, but in the dugout as well. Not only did they manage to secure the loan signing of Donny van de Beek, but they also managed to bring in Dele Alli whilst appointing a new manager in the form of Frank Lampard all within the final few days before the window closed.
Will Lampard succeed at Everton?
Yes!
No!
However, there were more deals reportedly on the cards for the club to do that didn’t get over the line. According to noted journalist Fabrizio Romano, speaking to Que Golazo, Paris Saint-Germain defender Abdou Diallo was also on their radar, but the clock was ultimately against them.
He said: “They were also thinking of a potential centre-back, for example, Diallo of Paris Saint-Germain was a player they wanted to sign, but there was no time to do it on Deadline Day, so time was not helping them.”
Who might benefit from this news?
This news could provide a welcome boost to someone like Jarrad Branthwaite, who has been on the fringes of the Everton side for some time now. But seeing as the club weren’t able to bring in Diallo, it might offer him an opportunity to step into the place that could have been taken up by the Senegalese defender.
We know that Lampard was not afraid of turning to youngsters when he had to, as best demonstrated during his time at Chelsea, so this could very well provide someone like 19-year-old Branthwaite to make himself known moving forward.
What will Frank Lampard make of this?
Whilst Lampard has shown his willingness to utilise young players when the time is right, this might not necessarily be one of those times.
Given where Everton are in the table, you would have to imagine that the more experienced players that he could get his hands on, the better. So you have to feel that someone like Diallo would have been a huge help to their survival efforts instead of having to rely on someone like Branthwaite.
In other news: ‘He immediately called’ – Journalist reveals Lampard masterstroke behind-scenes at Everton