Everton can confirm their Premier League status with victory over Crystal Palace on Thursday night, but even as their fate is decided, Frank Lampard has suggested reshaping of his team for next season is already underway.
The new manager spoke recently about the work already going on behind the scenes to find the new players he needs to strengthen Everton, both within his squad and from a busy summer of transfers. Several players will leave when their contracts are up, and there are also question marks about some of his biggest stars, with the likes of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin attracting interest.
Mirror Sport has the latest Everton transfer news, including updates on a long-standing interest in Chelsea star Conor Gallagher, along with a potential departure of a big name that has been long forgotten, and a strong message from the manager to under-performing Dele Alli.
Gallagher scouted
There is no doubt Frank Lampard will want to strengthen in the midfield, with Fabian Delph coming to the end of his contract in the summer, and Andre Gomes and Allan firmly out of favour with Frank Lampard. So Chelsea loanee Gallagher, who will face the Blues on Thursday evening for his loan club Palace in that crucial relegation scrap, could clearly be of interest if his parent club decide to cash in.
Gallagher has won some rave reviews with his loan at West Brom and then Palace this season, even winning an England call up recently, but his parent club have been reluctant to put him into their senior squad. Lampard will know all about him of course, after his time as manager at Stamford Bridge, and the Liverpool Echo report that “Everton scouted Gallagher at least 10 times between 2018 and 2020”, suggesting a long-standing interest in the player.
While a move for a 22 year old who has genuine England prospects would seem a no-brainer for the Blues if they can survive in the Premier League, there are a couple of big ifs around this deal. The most obvious is that Gallagher has done enough to persuade Chelsea to give him a chance next season, given his incredible form with Palace. He is under contract until 2025, which suggests they do rate him. The second is that Palace themselves are in the driving seat should Chelsea decide to cash in. He has looked at home with the London club, and has a good relationship with boss Patrick Vieira, so staying would seem a natural option.
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Kean swap deal
Most Everton fans have forgotten about Moise Kean, the Italian striker signed for £30m back in August 2019. It’s not surprising either, given that he scored just two Premier League clubs for the Blues. But technically he is still their player, given he is currently half way through a two year loan deal to his previous club Juventus, who have a commitment to buy at the end of that agreement. Kean though, has hardly pulled up trees back in Italy, with Juve apparently keen to offload.
And now according to Le 10 Sport, PSG - another of his loan destinations during a spectacularly unsuccessful career at Everton - are keen to take him back…which could see a complicated swap deal with transfer listed PSG forward Leonard Parades going the other way. That would involve complicated negotiations with Everton though, to approve the deal.
Dele's future
Dele Alli has already been linked with moves to other clubs in the summer, with various outlets claiming that the Blues already want to cash in on him, despite only arriving at the end of January. Everton have a complicated agreement with Spurs, where they must pay around £40m for his services, BUT only when he has hit a long series of targets, which are appearance based. The first payment is after 10 appearances, and then 20.
Interestingly, he has made NINE appearances for the Goodison club, but no starts. And it seems he may not get a 10th game for his new club, with vital games against Palace and Arsenal coming up. According to various reports in other outlets, Everton are considering letting him leave in the summer, with a price-tag of £20m suggested. But boss Lampard has been reported as saying his future is in his own hands, with the Daily Mail quoting him as saying: "I have had those discussions with him. He'll be very clear as to where I am and at the moment. If Dele plays his part in these three games then great. He needs to just keep training hard and stay really well focused and fight for the opportunity."
