Deulofeu Returns in €6m Deal!

Breathe again.

Welcome, Gezza!

Side question, why is no one converting this back into £?

(£4.2M in case anyone is interested)

My main concern is the situation of the Manager and how he approaches next season. We could end up easy pickings by a lot of teams next season.

Well in EFC and Geri, I guess that leaving note was sincere too then.

*swoons*

Easily the most exciting signing made since Kanchelskis.

Made up doesn't even get close!

I reckon it will be another year or two till we begin to see the best of him but when we do...

Still need a central playmaker and a CB to my mind.

Can't wait to see you dazzling opposition defences again and hope you will continue where you left off before that hamstring injury, came just at a time when you were hitting top form.

I feel a little bit better for renewing now.

Del Boy hardly took La Liga by storm last season but perhaps the Premier style is more suited to his particular attributes. But whatever the outcome, I can’t help thinking Martinez loves going back to players he’s had before. To me such a obsession indicates a lack of confidence in his own judgement in the market but perhaps he, like us, hope they are all better second time around !

Let's keep them coming.

Are we stilling going for Lennon? and shouldn't we offload Mcgeady before we let Mirallas go. Unless Monaco are gonna give us good money for Mirallas. And are we still getting a number 10?

Well done to Everton for getting this done and of course to TW's own Glastrodamus for predicting this all the way back in January....who's next Colin?

Really exciting though and man we need someone to spark this side that had no fire last season! Maybe Dela is that guy!

Still give him one game (opener) that’s it.

High probability that they will both strengthen our first XI and certainly deepen the squad. GD in particular gives us a weapon that other clubs will fear and have to think hard how to counter.

Hope that we still get Lennon and keep Mirallas for now. It should strengthen our negotiating hand with Spurs as we obviously will now be a lot less desperate to sign Lennon. See no need for McGeady if Lennon also comes over.

All I want is a centre back and a good central playmaker then we have no excuses not to make a push for the top 4 and 6 places. That squad's good enough.

Added to the current core of top quality like Baines, Coleman, Jags and were a only few players short of a potentially immense 11.

Martinez wants players who want to be at the club. If I was KM I would start to eat some very big pieces of humble pie!

IF that happens, we've made a very good deal, I'd say! If not, he'll just end up average enough for our level that we won't have lost much on any deal we made to bring him here.

Deulofeu is a great signing. He has massive potential, and has the ability to drive us, and opponents, crazy. Even after a poor season in Seville, he still managed 9 assists and 3 goals in 16 starts (albeit with alot of sub appearances). Sometimes loan spells don't work out. Cheryshev had a poor spell at Seville before dazzling at Villareal, and I'd prefer to have Deulofeu because I feel that he has the potential to be a better and more dangeorus player.

What did Alan Ball's father tell him when he signed for Everton? "Work hard for these fans, and they will love you son".

Same thing still applies today, especially if you have got great ability. GOOD LUCK KID!!!

....And even if the 'always a blue' tweet is a PR exercise, it's a bloody good one!

With Deulofeu on one wing and either Mirallas or Lennon on the other then we will have genuine pace. And as the signs say speed kills.

(of course the ones that don’t come off will be met with ’oh for fuck’s sake lad!!’ but c’est la vie)

Phil Walling (19) - Suspect you’re right the re the question mark (now) over Mirallas, but if we got great money for him, that would suit me.

As talented as he is, there were too many games last season where he genuinely looked like he couldn’t give a shite.

(I’ll always support ’greedy’ but not giving 100% is a crime)

Up the Toffees! (look it up Gerard).

Mick - 54 I don’t recall Lukaku missing too many chances. A few were saved by goalkeepers, but he converted the majority that came his way. One of his problems was that the service from the flanks was at best inconsistent, at worst awful last season.

Still, he’ll learn. But he’s far from being the finished article.

You are the online equivalent of a kid stomping his feet for attention and screaming "LOOK AT ME!!! LOOK AT ME!!!"

Lets hopefully enjoy the fact we have someone who is potentially exciting to watch. Enjoy him while he is here. I would prefer to see him at Everton for a season or two or how many etc rather than at another premier club. As long as he puts the effort in and looks interested he will do for me .....for the time being!

How many times have we commented on missing out on players who were available for next to nothing and who have rocked up at places like Stoke etc. Bojan springs to mind. And we have mostly gone. Why Stoke?

Unfortunately, I see RM being much like DM was, and only trying the young ’uns on whenever he’s either desperate or feeling safe, for whatever reason.

How I’d love to see what could happen with 3-4 veterans and the rest being rookies, without going down at the end of the season, and all the rookies learning from the experience... But I guess that’s what you can’t do anymore, as the game changed after SAF did his thing anyway.

Or, maybe... ?

Having said that, my contribution to the Club next season will be an indirect one via Sky in two countries. Have I retained my right to moan? Probably not .

£4.3m is not a great deal in todays crazy market and even if he really bombs I’d be amazed if we could sell him for a similar amount to some midtable Spanish team in 3 years time when he will still only be 24.

If he’s good then hooray.

If he’s really good and Barca buy him back then we’ve had a player who has done well and essentially been paid to have him. It will be annoying perhaps but we will have benefitted.

I’m struggling to see the downside of this one....No doubt you can let us know.

Still, I’m delighted he’s back and hope he reaches Barca standard in any case.

(Said with the sadness of wondering what could have come of us as a club had Heysel not happened).

I hope the (angry) sarcasm is obvious enough!

I don’t think anyone believes that GD will suddenly transform Everton, just that he represents a good risk, given his pace and one-on-one ability.

If he works on his crossing and defensive effort, he can be an outstanding winger. If he doesn’t, he’s still a dangerous commodity to put in when you are chasing the game.

This kid could be anything from a show pony, to a great, but he wants to play for Everton, so let’s see how it goes.

You make some very good points at times, but if you have told us a twice, you have told us a thousand times.

Sit back and enjoy the show, you can even put the kettle on at half time now!

Exciting signing and Cleverly is a solid addition on a ’free’. Squad is being built up nicely now, although I think we now have 11 midielders!

Creative CM, CB, Striker and LM and we’re good to go.

Can happily get rid of McGeady whilst we’re at it.

He’s not the same class yet, but in a couple of years who knows. Certainly, he’s skilful and direct, and when a team is parking the bus, he could make all the difference. I’m not sure about Martinez, particularly after last season, but if he can get the right players maybe he can make it work.

Unfortunately, as is always the case in football, I’m now thinking about the No.10 people have been talking about. Can we get in someone classy without selling first? Regardless, this has been a great start to the summer, roll on August.

Is there anything you actually look forward to in football, other than the possibility of seeing someone fall flat on their face?

We’ve just signed a young player of fantastic potential whose future progression could go either way. We all saw what he’s capable of when on song, but also witnessed him struggle to translate his talent into being an effective team player at times.

Everyone knows his fortunes might fluctuate now he’s actually here full time and no one (apart from you) is labelling him ’a saviour’, but if we can harness his ability to force opposition players back on their heels, whilst working on addressing the weaker aspects of his game, then that’s some potent weapon we could have in the side. Then again, he could prove to be nothing more than Bobby Warzycha minus the mullet and Brotherhood of Man tash.

Such positives and potential pitfalls go hand in hand when you’re talking about a player looking to transcend the ’hotly tipped youngster’ tag. Can’t you just hope for the first, rather than seemingly relishing the second? Willing an Everton player on has got to be worth more than waiting to say ’I told you so’, otherwise why waste your time even following the fuckers in the first place?

I’d still like to see another attacking option i.e. Lennon or number ten, but what I really want to see wether or not it be in this window is a leader in the top half of the pitch, someone who will turn up everyweek and who brings some strength and leadership to the team like Jags does at the back and is not afraid to give other players a rollicking when needed!

That said this signing is a start, we need atleast 2 possibly 3 more in of a ’certain’ quality. As it stands I could see us pushing up a further few places from last season but without the quality required I still feel top 4 is not within our reach as the squad currently stands.

RM must not think his work is done though. Ideally I’d like a new centre back and striker as permanent signings, perhaps with the creative No 10 the manager mentioned on loan, as that kind of player is hard to find...

Ever Blue
Ever True
EVERTON

I think getting caught up in negative possibilities is a waste of time. Well done Roberto and Co!!!

Mr Walling. If you can ONLY see negative aspects of this deal, and absolutely no positives, then I really do despair.

I am sure you are able to see through your whatever-the-opposite-of-rose-tinted-glasses are enough to observe that we aren’t in a position to spend £20-£30million a pop on ready made super-stars so I’m at a loss as to what you think we should be trying to do. (I also note from the latest acquisition from that lot across the park that this kind of money may still only really buy you "potential").

Would you prefer:

a) Paying £15million for a player like Deulofeu with no buy-back clause which would in turn reduce the budget to spend on the rest of the squad while putting us at risk of having a £15m "flop" on our books rather than a £4m one?

b) Filling our squad with a Steven Naismith type player in every position who won’t cost a lot, will never amount to very much but at least will put in a shift? Essentially NEVER investing any money whatsoever on potential superstars in case they never fulfil that potential?

c) Raiding the continent for some players we’ve never really heard of who have good stats in which ever no-mark European league they play in and end up with the next Ricky van Wolfswinkel?

Don’t you think it’s good that we are actually trying something a bit different? Bearing in mind that our transfer strategy in the past 20 years has resulted in zero trophies.

For me, the positive aspects of this deal outweigh the potential negative ones quite significantly. For you to only be able to focus on the negatives is possibly something to discuss the next time you sit down with your shrink.

Some lads though remind me of modern day kids being asked what’s Santa bringing them. A CB, Lennon & keep greedy KM, a great No 10, a new GK and of course a free scoring striker.On yer way out Santa take that McGeady fella with ya & maybe Gibson too. I think Browning, Galloway and Garbutt are our defensive backup with Bobby standing by Timmy for another year. Has Podolski moved on yet?

Simon Davies
Slaven Bilic
Steve Simonsen
Stephen Hughes
Steve Watson
Danny Williamson

Welcome back.

Grow some balls Roberto an go all out.

Nothing better than a young fearless player, yes he may be rash at times and a little selfish but he is also brilliant at other times. The Maturity that will come as he develops will lead to less of the bad and more and more of the good.

Having him in the team is going to make it a lot easier to watch all out fixtures next season in the early hours of the morning from down here in Aus!

Bringing new signings in gives players a lift and brings pressure for them to perform.

I still believe we need a good quality MF general in the Peter Reid mould and I’m still not convinced McCArthy will be with us when the season starts and having lost 2 experienced centre backs we need quality reinforcements in that area too.

The other area I believe we should invest most of our kitty is in a top class Goalie. Tim Howard’s star is fading and it seems Robles is not up to it.

I don’t think there are any negative views comming from Phil it’s just a different point of view.

More entertainment in a 2 minute video than we had all last season!

Also, the chap who "flopped" at Sevilla, registered 9 assists in 22 hours on the pitch. More than Mirallas, McGeady, Lennon and Naismith had in 120 hours combined.

Judging by lots of responses, this is the correct meaning :) :) :)

Agree with all the positive comments on here ..

Think the CB and the number 10 signings are guaranteed ...

Questions are whether RM plays CKM as a central striker and or whether perm signing or loan we get a Stevie P replacement/back up ...

Now the lad has lots of incentives to get out there and show everyone what he can do.

However, how many people have realised that we now have, as near as makes little difference, pretty much the same squad as we had the season before last? Exceptions being Distin, Alcaraz who won’t be missed, Pienaar has become a fringe player for one reason or another, and everyone is a couple of years older and maturer (for better or worse).

Last season, we had a couple of pretty crap loans as it turned out, one half-decent one, and I consider it at least one step back from the previous season, or two steps back if you factor in progress made by other clubs. Therefore, if the squad performs as well as it did in the 13-14 season, we have moved forward again that first step, still leaving us potentially expecting a 7th - 8th place at best. So we do need to make further progress and build strength in depth if we are going to do better than that.

I cannot make my mind up about the goalkeeper: Howard and Robles both have me crapping myself but both could turn out to be solid again.

I do not religiously follow all the transfer movement and rumours so cannot be too specific about who may be available but there must be some likely candidate available with the current merry-go-round that is currently happening.

Podolski would be a good acquisition in my view if, indeed, there is any merit in the gossip, as would Kagawa I think. A solid central defender also please, Santa.

Most importantly – please Mr Manager, be a motivator and get the players playing with flair, enthusiasm and optimism. Everybody, it can be said, is probably very good at 10% of what they do, very bad at 10% of what they do, and pretty average at 80% of what they do. So play to their strengths, iron out their weaknesses, improve their averages and do not try to change them so dramatically. I have said it before and I will say it again – our players' heads were just not in the right place last year and I blame RM. I honestly do think he can make a shit hot team out of the squad which is building but someone really needs to tackle the psychological benefits.

I find myself eagerly looking forward to the new season (without wishing the summer away!) and so hope that come Xmas I am not in the same frame of mind as I was last year. If that is the case, then it will be time for change at the top because, with the personnel we have, someone for sure could do a damn good job.

COYB... Let’s rock!

If Pienaar and Oviedo are fit then the LM spot is not an immediate issue. The No 10 is however. I can’t see Barkley doing the job and Osman will be on the bench most games and is not the answer in any case. I would love us to get Kagawa.

We still need some more quality brought in, but I’m sure Martinez knows that himself. A midfielder, playmaker, CB and a striker hopefully.

Sergi Roberto, I think Colin said we’re looking at him didn’t he? He’d be a good option on loan, in terms of a playmaker, Cabaye would be perfect, although Palace are apparently interested in him which would be great for them.

Someone like Hernandez or Remy would be a good option for a new striker because lets face it, Kone is barely Championship level.

In terms of a CB, we should avoid Scott Dann, especially with that ridiculous £15m valuation Palace have put on him. I think we should go for Van Dijk. We’re linked with Ogbonna, he’d be a decent option also.

I think we need another winger, not Lennon though. Maybe Cheryshev from Real Madrid, he’d probably be available on loan or quite cheaply if they’re looking to get rid. Certainly less than Levy would hold out for that’s for sure.

Weak in the knees just to see DelBoy and his short-shorts back in Blue. Per his Instagram account, his shorts get even shorter on vacay in Ibiza. But I digress.

Exciting offseason thus far. Can’t wait to spank Watford week 1!

Just as with Barkley, post after post mentions ’potential’. I swear that word now outflanks the cursed ’phenomenal’ so loved by our learned manager!

Personally, from what I’ve seen and more recently read about Delboy, he – just like our local boy – has so far failed to ’train on’ and last season was still indicating the shortcomings he displayed as a teenager.

But perhaps, just perhaps, this manager will discover a way to bring the best out of these young bucks towards the future glory of our club. It’s just that I’m not betting on it!

It is all about player power since the Bosman ruling and presumably, if Barca want him back and he says, OK, but I want £300,000 per week and a five-year contract, if they won’t meet those terms, the sale doesn’t happen.

What if they player just doesn’t want to play for the club for whatever reason?

Is there any real point to these clauses in such cases?

Colin G could you please tell who’s next on the list ? Who will be our midfield general ? Will we get Kagawa ? Who will be the new left footed rock in defence ?

I think we will be better off, with 2 guys who have slight question marks over them, but are desperate to prove themselves; than one sulky superstar who is going through the motions.

Think about it; the window isn’t even open yet, and we’ve signed 2 young international-standard players, for a total of about £4 million. Plus, Luke Garbutt has signed up, which most of us thought was a lost cause. Not forgetting David Henen, who I have an instinct, may turn out to be a ’good’un’.

Now, I’m not Bobby’s greatest fan... but, if talented young players are queueing up to play for him, maybe the jury should stay out a little longer!

Don’t rate the player as much as others as he wasn’t good enough to displace Pedro as the fourth forward at Barca. Please don’t tell me he is a steal since there were no other serious inquiries, just rumours and preliminary queries apparently. The fee however is fine for a player with potential to be no worse than McGeady and could be ggod to to very good. The buyback could also mean a profit. Hope his pace can be an asset but worry whether speed will ever be relevant to an RM sideways and backwards system.

Still a positive move for a younger player so COYB!

Or........

Barca boy arrives and is rubbish all year and of course we have signed him permanently so tough.....

Leaving some of us thinking this is all just so bloody Everton it’s not true.

Meanwhile the rumours of Lukaku to Roma grow......

There’s a chance he would be awful. How bad would he gave to be for us not to make a profit on a young man with such a reputation?

There is a third scenario where he is somewhere between decent and brilliant but not quite good enough for Barcelona. That would be far more likely wouldn’t it?

Looking at the squad so far I can see us struggling to score enough goals, we definitely need to sign a goal scorer hopefully Roberto will address this soon.

Barry @151, Del Boy and his ego? In the same piece as you let us know that the world class coaches at Barcelona share the exact same opinions on players as you. Haha.

Does this mean that Aiden McGeady will be rarely seen again?

If that is the case is like a double bonus!

Add to that the signing of Cleverley and we have made a solid start in the market. Now hopefully a couple more to follow before season kicks off. I’d like us to go in for a couple of Brentford players. Button their goalkeeper, and Odobajo who can play right back/right wing.

Even if I accept Deulofeu was ’a La Liga flop’ (which I don’t), I am reminded that we once bought another flop from that league who turned out to be the best little Spaniard we knew.

I watch football to be entertained and Deulofeu is entertaining so he gets my vote.

Whatever level you played at, you must be able to see the potential in the lad. His career isn’t exactly guaranteed (there are very few you could say that about at his age) but he’s got a chance of being a very good footballer.

No amount of comments on here, will give RM more cash to spend, he has a budget, and he is working within it. No amount of comments on here will get the players we all want, so we have to accept the players we can afford. Everton should be in the top four, but we aren’t. Everton should be one of the rich clubs, but we aren’t. What are we going to do? Give up and go home, no, we get the players we can, and create the best team we can buy. I don’t feel sad about that, it is just how it is. I met a Chelsea fan the other day, who lamented that he preferred his club before the Abramovich millions, how his team had lost its working class background. I nearly hit him. I would love the millions, but I am on the outside looking in. He is on the inside and not enjoying it.

I suspect that Clough and Ferguson weren’t loved by their players. Playing for Everton is a privilege. I imagine playing for Martinez is money for old rope.

It is the vision, the hope that one day we will have a special team that makes me believe that RM is the so so so right person to roll the dice and give us the chance to have a team. We are more Ajax with their mid-90s team than an oil-money team. Play and build the youngsters and we have a chance.

Welcome ’Gerard’, enjoy showing us what you can do. ;))

The only Gerard flags will be ours as I heard Bill has bought a job lot from LFC and fans.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, there is so much deadwood at Everton, it make you wonder if we will ever have a balanced, talented side. We’ve waited 20 years for one. At least.

If we do not break the bank with a single transaction (like Rom) then maybe we can go some way to getting that balance of youth, talent and savvy. It is critical that a club like Everton understands the importance of the word VALUE.

However, just sometimes a club with little to spend can surprise and whilst very few Everton aficionados would expect a top four finish the rest of us would be happy on a big improvement over last season.

A lot depends of course on some of the younger players like Besic and Barkley really stepping up on a consistent basis otherwise it will be more like last season.

Hopefully the incoming of Deulofeu, Henen and Cleverley will put pressure on the others to perform better.

Pienaar – Bundesliga flop;
Arteta – La Liga flop;
Jagielka – bought from a relegated team;
Cahill – bought from a Championship team;
Lescott – bought from another Championship team;
Howard – a Man Utd reject ;
Gibson – another Man Utd reject.
(And others who I might have missed).

We have a long history of taking these bets and turning so called ’flops’ into Premier League first team regulars.

There is absolutely nothing new in us taking a chance on these type of players. The only difference now is that the manager is Roberto Martinez and some folks just don't like him. It irks them that we are attracting a slightly higher potential young flops who like to play for this manager and would likely never have been signed under the previous regime.

I have said it before and I say it again. I think we should try to sign John Guidetti!! He is without contract and he is a good player with great potential. Maybe the best player om the pitch yesterday when Sweden knocked out Denmark 4-1 in semifinal at the Uefa21 eurocup.

Come on Roberto! Call Guidetti!!

In your face, Martin! IN YOUR FACE!

I bet all in all, they wont cost much less than the £50M mentioned. I hope for all our sakes you will be laughing at the end of next season!

Pleased? I’m Elated!!