Agreement close for young Sporting striker

Chermiti from Sporting. Young, tall lad who may be more likely to feature for U21 team. Interesting move though.

Yes interesting move. Is he Premier League ready? Only played 16 games for Sporting last season and at 19 years old seems one for the future.

Can he come in and play first team and have an impact because that's what we need.

I'll back the signing for sure but hopefully he's one of a few rather than the only one….

Hopefully 2 or 3 of this profile and a more established name later in window when demands change.

Tall lad with decent movement who looks good at linking the play and taking up good positions in the box. Doesn't look the quickest. Perhaps more Weghorst than Calvert-Lewin but he's very young a hopefully has the talent to become a top player. Fingers crossed, though not sure he looks Premier League ready.

See? It all works out with some patience.

I bet loads thought Rooney was too young when he made his debut for us! 🙄🙄🙄🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

It gives a bit of hope that we have a player who we have bought before the £30M+ values start kicking in... Maybe early days yet though as other clubs may match the offer so he has a choice of destination.

I know, shamelessness and all that, but this at least addresses the point right?

Young, bags of talent, hopefully fairly cheap, what's not to like with this one?

Can't remember us ever signing a player for £13M for him to sit in the U21s, even when we had loads of money.

He's made his senior debut already so hope to see him on the bench at least.

The phrase in the next 48 hours is now synonymous with Everton press releases.

Also, although he's very busy, it would be nice for Kevin Thelwell to give at least one interview.

However, I accept and hope he may not be able to do so.

Who's not happy with this deal?

God knows we need someone and at 12 million he wont be wasted in the under 21's.

My instinct tells me if he is tall and quick then he should do well but anyone would be better than Maupay from what we have seen so far.

If he's half as good as Ronaldo……

When looking at his record I noticed Sporting have just bought a 23 year old right winger from Barca. He's Trincao, for £7m. As a RW he's played 101 games, scoring 15 goals with 13 assists. As a LW / CF he's played 42 games with 9 goals and 3 assists. I wonder, did we look at him ? It will be interesting to see how he plays against us.

He does seem to have the requisite basics i.e. 6'4", fast and physical but the premiership will be a tough baptism for him.

I also have some concerns over a 19 year old settling in to a foreign country.

I think Danjuma will operate as our first choice right winger but also as the experienced back up striker. This young striker will then possibly used as his progression dictates.

I've seen this guy described as an ‘unrefined Calvert-Lewis' and that looks about right. He's barely featured for the first team in Portugal so I'm pretty sure he'll need some time to bed in here.

It's an interesting move and the sort I want to see us make more regularly but will require patience. This guys not gonna score 10+ goals this season. But maybe he will next year!

I don't think this will be the only new forward we get.

Thelwell getting Danjuma in first then getting another in at reasonable cost shows some mettle for this gig. We have likely kept in position to make another deal this window but could wait if needed. This deal and another producing increased player value will then make us a much more attractive option for a lot of talent on European benches.

Could be wrong but I think not. I saw him come in as a sub. Did not take over the game but did settle Sporting sufficiently. He has some presence.

Is this a case of ‘knowing me, Alan Partidge, knowing you, another Alan Partridge'….or has my name mistakenly appeared in place of another poster?

Who are you? Who ARE you?

Does this mean I can get extraneous letters like when there were multiple J. Woods (Jay. Not James, the actor. He's ok.)?

Doesn't this tell us we shouldn't belive all the speculation as its rarely true.

Does he have a creative midfield player hiding in that hat ???

What's the problem? Is it unreasonable to expect us to sign a prolific 6ft striker faster than Usain Bolt who's got the Peter Pan gene so is perpetually 26 y/o, has never been injured nor will be due to his bionic limbs, on a free transfer and as a volunteer amateur who we don't even have to pay? That's all we asking for. None of these 5ft 11 dwarves of 6ft 1 inch bean poles. Past it 27 year olds or 25 year old kids.

Realistically the Portuguese Premeira Liga is no better than the Championship, Cannon is a year older has much better stats last season than this guy. Seriously should we not be putting all of our limited funds into getting a proven forward.

The gulf in class between the 2 players you chose to compare this lad to made me laugh.

You can't buy a Wayne Rooney for £15m and if he's not as good as James Vaughan, we've overpaid by about £14.5m.

If he had burst onto the scene and scored 15 goals last season, we wouldn't have a chance.

the small amount of stats I've seen about him suggest he is DCLlike in his play, which is a good sign. Hopefully DCL gets fit and stays fit, with this lad acting as his back up and pushing him.

let's see if it actually goes ahead, but €15m is hardly a big fee in the modern era.

Remember naysayers, AC Milan and others were looking at this kid and we got him.

The fact that other clubs are also interested makes it extremely unlikely that we will get him, if we are actually trying in the first place.

Reminds me of leaving QPR years back, when Andy Hinchcliffe scored a last minute free kick winner. A lad spotted on the way out with Hinchcliffe on his shirt. 'One Andy Hinchcliffe' soon became 'Two Andy Hinchcliffes '

For the next 12months which are so important, it's unlikely he will give us more than Simms or Cannon.

Vardy and Weghorst would provide no investment value. While this kid may only contribute meaningfully in several games we benefit short run and stay true to our model.

Firstly, I had to apologies to a fellow ToffeeWebber the other day when I called out the forum for constant negativity.

However, having watched all of our friendlies, a few things are obvious to me and others. Not least we lack a central point of a striker and a creative central midfielder. It's also rumoured that we are practically broke, rumoured bids of circa £20m for a few strikers suggests that's our budget for the year.

General consensus is that Cannon and Dobbin should go out on loan to further their development given their tender age.

Therefore, a younger player, who has been pushed down the pecking order at Sporting having themselves signed Everton target Gyrokis worries me. I'm excited by Everton signing young promising players before they've fully demonstrated their potential - as pointed out if he'd banged in 20 goals last season he wouldn't be coming to Everton.

My concern is solely, if we've got say £30M to spend in this window with relegation a real possibility and some glaring holes is now the time to invest half of that money on a lad who has only just turned 19?

With DCL's injury record and our financial predicament there's every chance this kid will be our main striker this year. I'm nervous about us having to put all our hopes on a kid who scored three goals in a Mickey Mouse league.

All I asked for was that if we brought him in it was alongside an experience striker not instead of. If you disagree, fine, but I think it's a fair and reasonable comment.

With regards fees, this player will cost about £9M before add-ons, and that is most likely spread out over 3 or 4 years. So not too big a risk and the potential of a big upside if Thelwell has spotted a rough diamond.

I am still baffled why we are all over this and excited, while we have a youngster a year older in Tom Cannon, who some say needs to go out on loan, I would have given Cannon an extended run in the squad and took the option up short term, to bring Vardy in, until we were in a position with more leeway under the P&S rules.

This may turn out to be an outstanding signing, but on this occasion, I am leaning more towards the safety option first route, and I would have loaned Maupay out, and kept hold of Cannon, with the view of Vardy short term.

I've read TW for years but never commented until recently. You were here first so I'll have to look at changing my forum name.

The final fee could be €15M from what I read. The initial fee is believed to be between €6-8M and I'd imagine a sell-on percentage included in that €15M.

Agree that we desperately need reinforcements in the short-term though.

I think not.

Why don't we use our youngsters?

Good luck to the lad, if he joins Everton.

UTFTs!

Simms was sold probably because the club did not think he had the potential to become an effective Premier League striker over the next few years. Personally I agree with this assessment; I reckon he'll score a decent amount of goals in the Championship but I'm not convinced he has the all round game to make the step up.

Cannon is possibly a better prospect but is not the right profile for a Dyche striker currently. His hold-up play is one of his weaker elements so he is not an obvious alternative to Calvert-Lewin. But could maybe play off another striker (as I think he did at Preston).

Chermiti is a different profile and has the potential to replace what Calvert-Lewin does. His physical attributes and work rate seem to fit the system Dyche wants to play. Whether he reaches his potential is unknown as always but at least we seem to be recruiting players with a profile that suits the manager's plans. Joined up thinking, something we've not had enough of!!

I dunno that Chermiti is the youngster I'd have gone for (he doesn't look that quick to me) but he has some talent and has hopefully been well scouted. Chances are we're only paying £2m this summer with another £6m over the next few years and more if he really makes an impact.

Fairly low risk with good upside. But is a player for the medium and long term primarily I'd imagine.

I don't belive we are weaker by promoting Cannon to Simms's place, and giving him a few starts to see if he can have an impact. Hopefully a couple of easier teams than Simms had to prove himself, yet this is the level they need to prove themselves at.

Chermiti seems like a low-risk gamble that could have a good return if he develops. If the Chermiti deal is round £2-3M now and the rest down the line, that's 3 players in for roughly the Simms fee, while imo, improving the first team.

We don't know how much we have to spend this window… could be £10-20-30M net. Thelwell and Dyche seem to be trying to squeeze as much as they can from it, while holding back enough for that main striker we all want I hope.

On the plus side, he's clearly a high potential player. Very tall, runs with the ball well and is skilful. He's also got good stats at Portugal youth international level too. I'm racking my brains for who he reminds me of – maybe Kluivert? Maybe Adebayor?

But there are plenty of reasons to be sceptical. The fee, let's be honest, is really very high for someone with so few games under his belt. I'm very keen for us to bring players in and develop them – but this is a high fee for a developmental player.

A very similar profile player, Emmanuel Emegha, has just joined Strasbourg for €13M from Austrian football. He's Dutch of Nigerian descent, 1.95 m tall and only 20. He got 9 goals in 27 games for Sturm Graz last season, so has the edge in experience and goals. Emegha looks better value – but maybe doesn't have the same high potential as Chermiti.

We've seen with Kean and Onana that even if they have talent and credentials, you're not going to see a lot of output right away. You need patience and it doesn't necessarily do these kids any favours to be thrown into a dysfunctional side battling for points at the wrong end of the table. That's not the sort of football they're geared up to playing and they can quickly lose motivation.

If we had a fit Calvert-Lewin and another senior striker who isn't Maupay at the club, I'd think this was a really good bit of business (albeit quite expensive just for potential). Given we really might need him to step in straight away, it seems quite odd.

This summer, it would seem more pragmatic to pay a similar fee for the likes of Piroe or even Iheanacho because we know they can step into the first team straight away, play games and know how to play English football.

Bold move by Everton. Let's hope it pays off.

We're like a Fortune 500 company being run by corner shop employees that only work part-time.

I think Chermiti could be very good he seems to possess very good player awareness during the game unlike Samuel Iling-Junior who seems to pass aimlessly.

Boulaye Dia would also be a good addition.

Our 5-1 defeat of Brighton last season was due to our attackers actually getting shots on target and not missing the goal.

Have you seen any videos this week showing Everton's training. The last thing they practise with any accuracy is scoring. Practically full-size goals on a pitch that is only 30 yards wide

No, I'm John Daley… And so's my wife.

The lad played 44 minutes in Europa League last 16 against Arsenal, and 71 minutes in the Quarter-Finals against Juventus.

He played 90 minutes and scored against Porto in a league game.

No way he's going from that to being an Everton reserve is there?

Maybe Chermiti and Cannon are now our back-up plan for Calvert-Lewin with the likes of Dobbin and Danjuma in support.

Maybe not such a bad idea, either.

The problem with Everton's forward line is that it has looked poorly organised for seasons:

Players not moving into the correct position to receive the ball;
Poor pass completion in the final third;
Players not in goal-scoring positions on time;
Forwards not anticipating chances and looking half-baked when they come;
Forwards not knowing to attack the near post;
Players easily channeled and robbed coming inside;
And one-footed strikers.

The statistical percentages in these areas have to improve or no forward will be able to make an impact.

I disagree about your comments on Onana. We paid £10M up front for him. He played nearly every match. So I'd say we got a lot of output in the 20-year-old's first season. Yes, he still has development in him and I'd say has profit too if we sold him.

Would we say the same about Iheanacho? Hardly fired Leicester to safety, did he?

The fee may seem high, as with Onana, but as we want to pay on the never-never, we are going to have to pay a little more. So £30M for Onana on the never-never is really a £20M player.

This lad's probably an £8m player but we are paying a financial penalty for not having the funds upfront.

Ask Billy and Farhad why!!!

I disagree on Simms. I don't think confidence is the issue. I think his issue is that, like Jermaine Beckford, he's a natural finisher but, for whatever reason, he hasn't developed his all around game. If he does, I'm sure we will see him back in the Premier League.

I can't stand to see that lad in an Everton shirt for another minute and the worrying thing is that was done on Thelwell's watch.

That is the correct trail of thought regarding Everton at the moment. They seem to be following a strategy as if they have been relegated as far as the team is concerned but they appear to continue as normal in the Premier League in other departments.

Jay #116,

If only.

And that brings in Thelwell with his Wolves links. Maybe that's where he looks in terms of scouting?

I remember Watford doing something similar with Udinese in Italy a few years back.

I also see he coached in the US with the New York Red Bulls, who Tim Cahill played for. As said on another thread, a market to tap into?

By the way, I watch him on YouTube and he's a tall lanky player quite similar to our own Onana.

Or may be we should have sent the Academy coaches who turned down Haaland to assess him as Mr Dyche prefers experienced players.

And on the John Daleys affair could we not prefix these regulars with "Gonda" and "Inda"?

It's down to judgement I guess, Alan.

We all do it and have opinions, so not as binary as that. The DoF and manger will do the same. Judge the young players they have and ones they want to bring in.

It's all subjective. But they are the ones calling the shots and will be judged on their decisions.

It's down to judgement I guess Alan.

We all do it and have opinions, so not as binary as that. The DoF and manger will do the same. Judge the young players they have and ones they want to bring in.

It's all subjective. But they are the ones calling the shots and will be judged on their decisions.

Utterly bizarre comment, give your head a wobble.

If Maupay goes on loan, Salernitana will be happy as they were reported as having offered Brighton close to £15M this time last year. He'd have been their club record signing.

Hopefully any loan also has a clause making the deal permanent especially as he only has 2 years left on his contract. Fingers crossed.

The more this story is being drawn out, then the less likely it'll happen IMHO. We're not very good at transfers in – especially if there's rivals for the signature.

Big shame because I can see us wasting a week or so on this one and nothing happens and we all get increasingly desperate.

Maybe I'm being harsh on the lack of professionalism, especially if Thelwell has done his job properly but it takes years to build something positive and nowhere near as long to knock it all down.

Years of mismanagement, resulting in the club not having any real thought out plans mean Everton have never shone so dimly, and this isn't a very good place to be when you're trying to recruit new talent.

Don't you understand that we don't need a romantic old lunatic with (allegedly) good negotiating skills, Farhad? (I'm sure you do!) We need fresh innovative people with talent. Our club has only gone backwards since you arrived with your money.

We have agreed a price with Fulham to sell them Demarai Gray, last season's 2nd highest goal scorer. Then put an offer in of between €15 and 20 million for a young lad who has only made 16 appearances.

Also, Everton and Sporting are haggling over the sell on clause: Sporting want 20% and Everton want 10%. We are supposedly skint so why are we spending between €15 and 20 million on an unknown?

I doubt many Blues have seen him play live so I can only assume this is a Thelwell signing, I just hope it works out better than our other 2 signings of young talent from Europe as in Sandro Ramierez and Moise Kean which weren't good for us or the players.

I get the feeling from his father's comments that this isn't the move they see much merit in and, to be honest, I can't either. Supposedly Wolves are interested, but I am sure if Wolves were interested then George Mendes, the agent who signed all of Wolves Portuguese players, would know all about this kid and would have signed him already if he has the potential to go all the way.

Couldn't agree more with that post Brian H, unless we are still going to be bringing in at least two other forwards as well.

Marco Silva needed a central defender with pace, but he was given a centre forward with potential instead, and Everton have been slowly regressing ever since imo.

Other clubs don't dither like we do. Again, I'll believe it when it's done.Hopefully this one doesn't get highjacked! We shall see…

I'm really inclined to agree.

My only thinking is, how many players have we targeted that fit the profile we need, that are supposedly attainable and the host club are prepared to accept a convoluted payment system from us? I'd suggest we walk away too now because I can't see this happening.

I can believe I'm saying this (and this is clearly how desperate I've become), right now I'd accept 2 journeymen strikers: Che Adams and Ihanenacho at £6-£7M each

We are desperate to stay up, they've gotten goals in the top league before. Adams is strong and can hold the ball up. The other lad is reasonable technically, having played for Pep. We need forward players

[I'm hanging my head in shame.]

Then, maybe, we could sign one of your two suggestions for under £10M on or near deadline when relegated clubs really start thinking of revenue over the whole year.

Then I had the strangest thought, it is what Everton have done to me in the past years, Bill still at the club and the romantic prodigal son returning, at various times, during his tenure.

So that got me set off thinking: Will Bill's last act be to bring Rooney back in the future, to manage our club? With the Rooney - Vardy scandal, is this why we are staying clear of Vardy.

Okay, it was more to do with the wives and not players but would bringing Vardy in, push Rooney's nose out of place? I know it sounds daft but, with our finances restrained at the moment, rather than pay a £15- £20 Million fee, would it not make sense to bring a proven striker in the short term?

We need someone with experience and a knack of scoring goals, Vardy for me has got to be worth bringing in, even with this youngster.

We'll never really know which players Everton have officially approached and failed to get, and the only players that Evertonians should concern themselves with is those that are already at the club, or those who sign up with Everton during the window.

Mind you, the rumour that Maguire is a top priority of Dyche and he is willing to sacrifice Keane and Holgate to get him, sounds like the sort of deal that the chairman would encourage, he just loves bringing second-rate Manchester United players to Goodison.

I don't think Vardy is a good fit for what we need and I think, even if he was, he may be something of a spent force now.

Recruiting on reputation rather than form and fit is a big part of what got us into this mess.

Plus TW's two main fonts of information on players have not heard of him, then he can't be that special… can he?!

It wouldn't surprise me if Kenwright is running things. I reckon he always has since he's been Chairman.

Players rumoured like Maguire and Antonio are not easy on the eye, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see us recruiting them or similar to give us more physical resilience throughout the season.

Then again we are paying people fortunes to come up with the right answers. It's the previous blighters that let us down badly doing exactly that and are the main reason we are where we are.

This guy would be perfect if he was 1 inch taller, 1 stone heavier, a yard or 2 quicker, a bit more skillful, a bit better in the air, speaks a bit more English, costing few million less, on a bit less wages, on a shorter contract and had shorter dreadlocks!

We would get into Europe !!

Thankfully it's not a committee of ToffeeWebbers who choose our transfer targets.

I'd like to see Cannon in the squad. I think he would give us more goal threat.

I quite agree. One group wants a young hungry prolific striker with sell-on value. The other group wants an older prolific striker with Premier League experience.

So what they really want is Erling Haaland or a young Harry Kane but at a Neil Maupay price tag and salary. I'm sure there must be a goal machine like that out there somewhere that the rest of Europe has failed to spot. Although I'm not holding my breath.

I remember speaking to our current manager this time 2 years ago. Although he gave nothing away when I was trying to quiz him about Jonjoe Kenny and why he didn't join Burnley, he did say that every deal now is extremely difficult, because there are usually so many people involved, and everyone wants a little slice because of the massive amounts of money that are usually involved when it comes to dealing with Premier League level.

She's better than anything we have on our books right now. I'd swap her for Maupay without a second thought.

I wasn't looking at skin colour. My reference being a young player with potential and promise who is from a foreign country (no support system here or family friends).

We need players who have experience and Premier League experience to stabilise. Players who can go straight into the first team.

Potential can come when we have bailed out this sinking ship and steadied it.

Maybe I should have explained earlier.

We've been buying so-called Premier League ready, experienced players for £25-35-50M; it's got us nowhere. We've been giving top wages to players who were meant to be at the top of their game.

When they flop, it's disastrous. Big fee paid, big contract and then big loss when trying to move on the player.

I like the profile of the players we are signing recently (Maupay apart): Garner, Onana, Patterson, McNeil, Chermiti with the best years infront of them not behind them and supplemented by experienced players like Tarkowski and Young.

You can't just stop buying developing players to stop the rot or next year you are in the same position when they are too old; it's a constant process.

Gana Gueye might not be the player he was but his experience is invaluable.

Tarkowski made more blocks last season than any other player.

McNeill was for me our best outfield player last season.

Garner looks like he can be a starting 11 player this season.

Onana has loads of potential and is younger than Garner.

He's done this while being forced to sell our best players and has bought the wage bill down massively.

This season's additions so far in Young and Danjuma are very shred as they cover just about every outfield position between them.

The only blot on his copybook is a striker to challenge Dom. But let's get it right – that's the hardest position to recruit in football and we're an unattractive proposition to any player without a death wish.

I see us getting someone in but not until the end of the window. In the meantime, I trust that they are in discussions with numerous players and agents that we know nothing about.

I just don't see how much more Thelwell can squeeze out of the zero that he started this window with. Net spend is zero; 2, maybe 3 players in.

Who are we honestly going to miss who has left?? No one say Mina!!! We missed him for the last 4 years while his wet paper mache legs were drying.

I'd like to know though, how come he has a release clause of €80M yet we are supposed to be only paying whatever it is we are meant to be paying?

If the player wants to leave but the club doesn't want him to, then it is subject to an offer at least equal to the release clause figure being offered.

Sounds more complicated than it is.

Wrong on many levels

Im talking of a striker here. Not an untested kid.

What got us into trouble was purchase of Keane, Sandro, Tosun, Gbamin.......the etc etc etc coupled with paying massively over the odds for average or above average players to which you make reference, we havent got money for now.

If you wanna quote at me look at players we have ignored to sign instead opting for dreadful ones, because of bff agents Haaland / sandro springs to mind.

Ashley Young is a good signing.

Players of his ilk (not all his age perhaps)

I think Danjuma is a good signing too.

Garner is class.

Mykolenko not so.

Then if ffp allows, yes have one or two potential talents but get some fighters and scorers to help keep us out of the permenant drop risk.

Of all the big money signings, I can't think of too many that were a great success.
Richarlison
Pickford
Digne
Sigurdson ( over priced though)
I'm struggling after that.

Not many turned a profit.

Yes obviously good pros and experience are always needed but to not look beyond 1 season is reckless.
I think we have experience in the team now with, gana, tarks, Coleman, dacoure & young.

I think the Premier league experienced players come at a price, a Premier league experiencd striker comes at an even higher price 15m gets you a Maupay enough said.
The net needs casting wider

I could mention many others we fail to spot and release.

Also many who Everton snubbed and then played for the sh...

We will agree to disagree.

What we don't need, imo, is players that are gonna need time to settle and develop like u allude to.

Everton have a woeful record in the transfer market. And Maupay is probably the worst during my 58 yrs

As many pl players you say we signed that are or were crap I can throw at least one failed foreign acquisition back at you.

We are a massively unattractive club due to the all of past seasons, the last few seasons and all the crap the owner and his side kick have created.

That is why I believe that the players Dyche said we tried to sign went elsewhere, those you want us to chase. I think its a waste of time.

I believe we can get premier league guys who see through the bullshit. Want to play regular but arent favourites at where they are.

But it is what it is. Everton are where they are because of incompetent tossers.

So anyhoo. utft

The fee is a little high for someone so raw but it will always be higher with so little paid up front (probably only £2/3m).

The player definitely has the right profile but let's hope he has the right attitude as he will have to work extremely hard if he wants to make it in the Premier League. Definitely has parts of his game that need work.

I doubt he'll make a huge impression this season but has the potential to be a top player in the mold of Calvert-Lewin, Adebayor, or Kanu. If he stayed in Portugal for 2 years and scored a bag full, he'd probably have a bunch of Premier League clubs looking to buy him for £20 or 30M so hopefully we've jumped the queue!

He'll have to make some impression this season for us as we desperately need someone to contribute at the top end of the pitch to stay up.

Not expecting him to be already as good as Ferguson of Brighton because Ferguson is already incredible for his age, but would be proof Thelwell has added another young player who is Premier League ready at a decent transfer fee. I'm looking at it more not as what he costs due to experience, but more what a promising young Premier League player costs and the fee agreed looks acceptable.

At this rate another couple of decent Thelwell signings means the squad has a strong starting eleven plus subs, and with Dyche's nous, plus luck that the younger players like Garner, Branthwaite, Onana and Dobbin improve a bit more again, maybe a cup-run isn't out of the question. That's optimism for you!

We don't want to be getting lumbered with those type of players again; that's why I'm a bit concerned about us being linked to Antonio. He'll be looking for one last payday and I certainly hope we don't give it to him, I'd sooner invest in younger players with potential sell-on value like we did with Lukaku.

Also, regarding Che Adams being linked, no thanks: he's a hard worker, granted, but he is deffo not the man to solve our goalscoring issues

He has had 11 starts with under 15 minutes on the pitch, total minutes: 94.

He has played the full 90 minutes 6 times, in these games he scored twice and provided one assist. It is the 90-minute stats I tend to look for in players.

In terms of total minutes played laid out as games, in 10½ appearances he has three goals and two assists.

I know about statistics can be bent to suit, but for a 19-year-old, that return from that time on the pitch isn't bad, albeit in a far less competitive league, so I think there is potential for this guy to be a good addition.

Depends how Chermiti does in training and injuries etc but I'd be surprised to see him start more than 10 matches this season. Keep in mind the excellent Evan Ferguson only started 10 games last season for Brighton and is further on in his development than Chermiti.

Considering we started the summer being linked to half of the Leeds squad, that all went a bit quiet. Are all of those players except Rodrigo still at Leeds?

Either way, it keeps prices as low as possible and avoids bidding wars we cannot afford to get into.

I also thought about Dobbin vs Gray and I know which player I would sooner have in the team although I would like to see Dobbin develop this season.

The player who I can't believe we seem to be hanging onto is Maupay.

Can we lay off Maupay for a change though, it's getting boring.
He was trying to play up front on his own last season, there was no previous evidence that he would be suited to that role, quite the reverse.

Blame Dyche for picking him there, but there were not too many alternatives I suppose.

I agree, Maupay doesn't play the lone striker well but for me, when he is presented with goalscoring opportunities such as a simple put it beyond the keeper, he lacks that ability.

It doesn't help that he can't head a ball, has no pace, and very little skill.

Kevin Phillips was also a small striker but, when he scored 30 Premier League goals in a season for Sunderland, he was also upfront with Niall Quinn. Between them, they scored 44 Premier League goals in a season. What would we do for that!

I agree, the obsession with the lone striker has persisted for years at Goodison, mind you most of the last couple of seasons has seen the false Number 9 model, due to injuries.

The problem that Everton has had is that we require two defensive midfielders to help out, what was at times a porous defence and that's left us bereft of creating too many opportunities for anybody who happens to be playing up front.

I too would like a big and little strike-force, but apparently the modern game doesn't lend itself to 4-4-2. We'll see how we get on in the coming season, although perversely many of Dyche's teams' better performances have come away from home, but the Goodison games haven't been quite as expansive, possibly due to the situation when Dyche came on board.

It can also work well on counter, as we saw against Brighton, but again needs a target man who can hold it up. Really hoping that's what this kid brings: hold-up play.

I think it's also why we're being linked to goal-scoring wingers like Danjuma. The red shites model sees tonnes of goals from wide forwards who score and big long diagonal balls to them. We need to strengthen here and it'll give us an outlet there too.

Once teams become scared to pin us in box and throw 9 forward to press us, we will move back away from the relegation places.

I was at that QPR match and if memory serves the great Brett Angell played for the 1st half and was substituted at half time. He never played another game for us.

Even the split striker approach that replaced it (with the likes of Cantona, Zola and Bergkamp playing deeper) has largely been replaced too.

In both cases, it leaves you a man short in central midfield where the game is often won or lost. That's why striker double acts tend to persist with sides that play 3-5-2 – like the excellent Inter side that nearly beat Man City in the Champions League Final.

Even then, Martinez played very deep off Dzeko at times – participating in the build up like a midfield player more than a fox-in-the-box like, say, Cottee.

The lone striker role only really exists in poor sides though, because that player should be supported by goalscoring wing forwards and / or by a goalscoring attacking midfielder.

One of the reasons Dyche impressed me last season is that he managed to get us committing more men forward to support the (often makeshift) striker.

I wouldn't be too worried about playing 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-5-1 etc under Dyche – unless the "1" is Maupay (which it almost certainly won't be).

You may well argue that the Argentine league is weaker than the Portuguese league but I think Veliz looks more a goal scorer than Chermiti. Surprised we haven't signed a player from South America in so long, there's great value to be had there.

The assumption is we see something in this kid that nobody in Sporting Club can? Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggled last season in the Premier League and yet he only got a handful of games?

Fingers and toes crossed and let's hope there are 3 worse teams in the league than us, but when we are losing out on transfer targets to Atalanta, that says it all.

Hey Bill, have many Chairmen have rang lately to get your advice on how to run their clubs? Tosser.

It's also been implied that this lad is one for the future and we are still after an experienced striker for the present whilst we attempt to nurture Chermiti. This sort of signing is the kind that will help us financially in the future.

Whoever or whatever it is causing the hold-up, what other demands will he be making?

Hope I'm wrong, and it's more media hype!

If Kenwright is involved, there's the problem!

He's a Japanese International and plays as an attacking midfielder. In 179 games for them, he has scored 40 goals, plus 33 assists. We desperately need a midfielder who can create and score. The guy does both.

I'm surprised he has been available on a free for so long but Everton won't get an answer unless they ask a question. He's 26 and his injury record is excellent. The last 2 seasons he's played 93 games.

But and there's always a but, there is still agreement to be reached with Sporting about the structure of the deal. Probably that sell-on clause, they want 20% we want 10%. Call it 15% and get it done and dusted?

Also, Emiliano Martinez from FC Midtjylland, the rumours have rumbled on for a few months over him. I've not seen him but we do need more competition, cover for injuries, also when the Africans depart for a month.

Finally West Ham's Antonio is another mentioned. Maybe for strength in depth up front should Calvert-Lewin struggle again for fitness.

One day I read that a fee has been agreed with Sporting Lisbon, including sell on fee, but personal terms not agreed. The next day, it's personal terms agreed but still haggling over the transfer fee.

Also read reports that he was meant to be having a medical “later in the week”. That was about two or three days ago. It don't half rumble on with us.

I've heard of the mooted stage, advanced talks, closer to a deal, imminent. But this week a new stage of ‘bags packed' has been created for this transfer.

Rob #205. Hope that's correct. Still feel like it's taking ages tho!

Jack@199, that sounds like a great potential, definitely midfield cover is needed for next January when Gana, Doucouré and Iwobi, are away in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Let's all stay positive.

UTFTSs!

Bang, Bang, Chermiti Miti Bang, Bang.

Now try and get that song out of your head.

If we had our actual squad fully fit to play Fulham, I'd like our starting eleven to be:

Pickford
Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Young
McNeil, Doucoure, Gana, Onana, Danjuma
Calvert-Lewin

Subs: Keane, Coleman, Godfrey, Mykolenko, Garner, Iwobi, Andre Gomes, Gray, Maupay.

I think Doucoure has earned a place in the team because (apart from that Bournemouth goal and being a Dyche favourite) he has an eye for goal none of our midfielders have.

Also, it's clear Danjuma's best position is in the left wing so a fit Calvert-Lewin or a good centre-forward is a must. It will be interesting what will Dyche do, because he's played a lot McNeil over there (yes, McNeil is now injured so maybe he won't be able to, we'll have to wait on that one). If we don't have a centre-forward who can head the ball, what's the point of playing wingers? I mean, are they going to cross a ball for tiny Maupay? Really? Keane is not going to play No 9 on match days.

The last thing: what's the idea of selling Gray? I don't understand… He's a good player and in his peak years and we don't have any backup for our wingers.

At least the season is near and the hopes the inept board wont be at Goodison are very high.

It hasn't been done because skinflint Bill realized he could save a weeks wages procrastinating so as to free more cash to payoff DBB et Al.

Exactly

This is what our beloved club do to us. We're anxiously waiting on confirmation of signing a 19-year-old we've never heard of that we know isn't ready for our league but he's literally the only positive transfer news we have.

So utterly pathetic.

I recall Paul the Raj sounding the warning bells 2-3 years ago about how much we were spending. He was told to shut up because it's not his money, why should he care, it's irrelevant

How those darn roosters have come home to roost. :-(

There's West Ham Utd received over £100M for Rice and have brought nobody in yet.

Stop fucking whingeing — it's embarrassing.

Finn Taylor
30 Posted 15/08/2015 at 00:35:04

Bill K is very ill. It's a serious illness. He can't travel to home games cause of it.
He left the Southampton game after 10 minutes and has barely been able to get back to Goodison.

I have my own criticisms of his tenure, but the current flare up is coming at the worst time.

I fear fans groups will be made to look like fools. However, with greater transparency, that wouldn't happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5HsFD9a0ek

Chairman Bill, with his vast experience of handling transfer negotiations, has this in hand.

It's what he was kept on for remember!

Seems he will still attend his medical in the coming days, even though personal terms have yet to be agreed. I thought personal terms had been agreed? Just goes to show you can never believe a word some of these “phoney” websites say.

I mean, the season starts in a week….

Adams had only been on the pitch less than 10 minutes. A square ball by Ward-Prowse and put away on the swivel into the far corner.

Yes… put all this on a fan site which.. obviously… the club will follow second by second….

Are you really… real???? Go email BBB

As you say, we all like to pick a player or two who we think could do a job. Nowt wrong with that.

As we are speculating, guessing and wanting, I'd take those two players you mention Rob. Ward-Prowse and Adams. I hope we do get this young Portuguese prospect.

You never really know how it will pan out. I recall the summer of 2004. We signed Tim Cahill for £1½M from Millwall because terms couldn't be agreed with Crystal Palace. We sold Wayne Rooney. The doom-mongers were out. We had sold English football's greatest prospect. One of our own too. We signed an unknown from the second tier who hardly had the top clubs queuing up for him. You just never know.

We finished 4th, probably more because Liverpool choked as much as we did just enough to get over the line for Champions League qualification. I think we might have the title of least points to qualify??

Well said, Brian @218. What will be will be. It's been a pretty quiet transfer window all around to date. To me, I just want to support the team that walks out next Saturday, whoever they are. And I will.

Nobody really has got a clue what's going on.

Surely it would be Liverpool that had the least points to qualify as they finished beneath us? Although they didn't qualify legitimately.

I think I remember at the time the Minister of Sports saying that Everton should not be allowed to compete in the Champions League because our points total was closer to the bottom teams than the top, so you may be right about the lowest points to qualify legitimately. But the twat was all for Liverpool taking our place even though they had finished closer to the bottom than us!!

I think I recall we had the honour of being the only team to qualify with a negative goal difference as well?

We have no other Portuguese speakers in the squad (or even Spanish speakers). I'm sure he speaks decent English and maybe even French, being half Tunisian, but it's not like, say, when Wolves could easily integrate very young Portuguese players together all at once with a Portuguese manager + experienced Moutinho.

We are also poorly set up as a development team for players like him. We don't have a cluster of development players from overseas; we don't have an overseas partner club for developmental loans.

The recent history is one of bad football, bad finances and managers who don't last a full season.

Even if the pay is better, you can't blame the kid for thinking he'd be much better off staying with Lisbon. He's only 19 and probably is much better off staying in Lisbon - and then going somewhere like Lille or Dortmund or Leipzig in a year or two.

It's a huge ask for him to come to Everton and make a big impact in the circumstances.

Virginia is Portuguese, as is Andre Gomes.

My strong expectation is that both will leave either loan or sale before the window closes. Seems very unlikely they'll be part of the squad this coming season.

I'm the club's biggest critic (self pronounced) and it appears they're working their backside off to get targets in at the minute. Don't believe everything you read. Gnonto was off a week ago and the same rags say we're 1 million away from signing him now.

He seems like a massive downgrade on Begovic if he really is lined up as our Number 2. I got the impression Dyche was trying to bring in Tom Heaton for that role, having worked with him at Burnley.

This lad looks like he can do things that nobody currently in our side can even think of especially our current forwards.

Big lad. Can't say I am worried about the fee as he is very young and surely will always command what we intend to pay for him.

Thelwell's only duffer based on fees laid out were Maupay and (Vinegar). Onana was expensive but expect him to come on stronger in his second season. Again only a youngster in PL terms and will be better for the experiences gained last season.

Che Adams is PL proven and scored the winner at Sheffield last night. Not a twenty goal a a season striker by any means but will likely chip in on a regular basis. 9,7 and 5 in his last three seasons at Saints. Yes, we want better but beggars cant be choosers and no one top strikes will want to join us.

Another hard slog on the horizon but with Dyche in place hopefully we have a better chance of reaching mid to lower table mediocrity than being involved in another fight to stay up.

Still time for a few surprises as we know the dunce upstairs only ever opens his wallet one or two days before the window closes.

Don't know if I am John Hall 1 or John Hall 2 as there are two of us on here. Am I the senior of the two ? 69 a few weeks ago. Let me know please John Hall.

With the clowns in charge, you would have to think if a big offer comes in for Branthwaite, his feet won't touch the floor, and no doubt it will happen an hour before the window shuts so 'there was no time to get anyone in, but we'll sort that in January' etc.

If Shakespeare was still around, I'd bet he'd write a great tragi-comedy about us. And, btw, where the fuck is the MSP money? Another lie from a board of liars?

Looks a very good player in the making, I'd be delighted if we signed him.

I wouldn't take too much notice of the rubbish that get printed on any Twitter or football insider website. They are 50% at best nonsense to fill the pages.

The media silly season is in full flow.
UTFTs!