Everton are facing a massive fans backlash, after a day of frustration, anger and eventual disappointment as the transfer window closed without a signing.
Fans arrived late at the club’s Finch Farm training ground late in the evening as the deadline was looming, to hang banners over the main gates, protesting at the regime of owner Farhad Moshiri.
The billionaire businessman had promised supporters “Everton would get the striker they need” before the deadline at 11pm on Tuesday evening, but despite pursuing more than half a dozen targets, the Blues failed to complete a deal.
They are the only Premier League club NOT to make a signing in the January window, leaving new boss Sean Dyche to somehow fight his way off the bottom of the table without any new faces while his relegation rivals have all significantly refreshed.
Instead they are left negotiating with 33 year old Andre Ayew, who is a free agent after leaving his Qatar club Al Sadd last week by mutual consent.
That allows Everton to sign the former Swansea and West Ham striker after the window closes, and a deal could still be completed this week. It left supporters questioning the owner, who had personally intervened last week to agree the sale of England U21 striker Anthony Gordon to Newcastle for £45m.
Fans expected that money to be reinvested, but despite late attempts to sign France World Cup star Olivier Giroud from AC Milan, and a loan bid just hours before the window closed to take Ismaila Sarr from Watford, they were left disappointed.
The Blues did make a firm offer of around £20m, plus another £3m in bonus payments, for their number one target, the Portuguese striker Beto Betuncal. But that was dismissed out of hand by his club Udinese, with the Italians insisting only the trigger of his escape clause of £35m would prise the 6ft 4 target man away.
Everton refused to go that high for the 25 year old who was named in the initial 55 man squad named by his country for the World Cup.
The Goodison club did go all out on deadline day to deliver the two forwards new manager Sean Dyche wanted to bolster his front line as he attempts to steer his side away from the relegation threat which haunts them. They also pursued Lyon’s proven goalscorer Moussa Dembele, but the former Celtic striker is available on a free at the end of the season, and he indicated he is prepared to stay in France until the summer.
It was a day of real disappointment for Moshiri, who will now come under massive pressure from the fans after failing to invest any of the £45m he received for Gordon.
Everton lost out on Rennes forward Kamaldeen Sulemana, who is regarded as a bright young prospect at 20, and they failed in a bid to sign Genk’s giant centre forward Paul Onuachu. That left fans angered and bewildered with increasing social media criticism of the owner, especially after it became clear that Everton were interested in Ayew.
Everton did have other targets, with Chelsea’s rising young star Omari Hutchinson offered on a loan deal, but the club felt the 19 year old was too young to make a difference in their relegation scrap. There was also interest in Roma forward Nicolo Zaniolo, but again the fee was an issue, with the Italians sticking out for a figure close to £30m.
