Everton activate one-year clause in Gueye's contract

In reality, we have little alternative. Gueye has earned his right to play on. Seamus too, and I suspect that he is a relatively inexpensive option. And Young? Answers on a postcard please.

I hope that the proposed salary offered is commensurate with his age and likely contribution to the team but, if he is to be considered a potential regular starter and/or we are paying him silly money, we really are in trouble.

I wonder which 40-year-olds are currently under consideration?

In our current set up, Gomes?(when fit), by no means a favourite of mine, offers an alternative in midfield that no current player offers, he can see a pass, he can take a decent free kick, his cameos since Christmas have been impressive , I would offer him a take it or leave it £25,000 p/w deal, he's not getting much more in Europe, maybe Saudi will be an alternative, but in our current predicament, I would keep as much of this squad together as possible, because a lot are leaving anyway.

Oh and I'm sure he could do a decent job as Lornegan's replacement as third sub goalkeeper.

I can't see the logic in keeping Dele Alli – anyone explain that given his contract is up? Only Everton…

Who knows… he might sign for a low-ball wage just to stay at a club who has backed him for the last couple of years and paid him millions; he actually owes us.

Patterson 22
Branthwaite 21
Mykolenko 24
McNeil 24
Garner 23
Beto 26
Calvert-Lewin 27

With the likes of Dobbin and Warrington waiting in the wings, a young team supported by experienced players like Pickford, Tarkowski, Idrissa and Ashley Young, who if you listen to the players speak, commands a lot of respect.

I'm pleased about Gueye. His fitness levels and energy are still there.

His contract runs out in June so he won't be getting paid other than in time and medical attention.

Not an awful thing to do IMHO.

Sometimes a little bit of humanity doesn't go amiss. These players are people too.

That was the principle of Dr David France's Everton Former Players Foundation.

Also, in my opinion, Gomes did well when he played in the latter games. I wouldn't mind him staying on a lot lesser contract.

I do hope your list of players are still on board when the first window of the 2024-25 season closes!

Villa also wanted to keep him if I remember correctly (happy to be corrected if that was not the case).

Gomes wages will be a good saving and I'd not really fancy paying any significant fee for Harrison. And Alli will most likely rebuild his career in the US or somewhere with less pressure.

It's gonna be a summer of scratching around and wheeling and dealing!

It's not easy picking up a £100k/week for doing fuck all, it can play havoc with the lower back! :-)

Glad Gana Gueye may stay for another year, hope we can keep Jarrad and add a few others with maybe a slender Transfer Kitty!

Gomes will go, but as mentioned on these pages, recently he has shown his class. He just needs three Idrissa Gana Gueyes around him!!

I would like to see Patterson get a run in the team next season. Similarly, I would like to see Warrington either get a chance or a loan spell in the Championship.

I have it on good authority, (>60-year-old Villa home and away fan) that they were glad to see Young leave Villa last year, he had served his purpose there.

That's not to say a year or two with us has not re-invigorated him, decent money notwithstanding.

The two old guys still with us but not many others did any better except Branthwaite, Pickford and Calvert-Lewin when finally fit.

We all hope a few others will be let go for little or nothing as they have either not been rated by Dyche or are of little use because of other reasons.

We are all hoping the good core of the squad plus one or two class acquisitions may get the team back to being a really competitive outfit, after all we did beat RS which showed we can beat Top 6 teams.

It's Barry - Brian is another bloke who posts more regularly than me.

Brian did in fact get offered new terms, but preferred to stay as an Evertonian. … Born not manufactured. 😊

He doesn't even go to the games to support his teammates… that should be a minimum in my book.

Everyone harking on about a half-decent 2nd half versus Palace have got his stardust in their eyes… it's not like he scored a hat-trick or anything… and given how much we paid him, I don't think he's anywhere near justified the money.

I know he's had issues and I'm sympathetic but at least support your teammates and acknowledge the fans. Support is a 2-way street. Everton are too sentimental.

Haa haa – fair enough!

I can still understand why Everton have decided to keep him – both Young and Brian!

Listen to us. We are talking about 25,000GBP a WEEK being relative buttons. And that, ladies and gentlemen, perfectly sums up why this great game, that we all love, is broken.

Gana has shown in the last few games at least that he still has the fitness and Gomes looks like he still has that touch of class. Dele Alli is a no-no due to the cash Spurs would want but, with Harrison, those last three would mean about £300k pw off the wage bill. However, keeping players well past their prime wouldn't be doing much for any promising youngsters.

On Gomes, I could make an argument based on the fact he cost us £25M plus £100k plus a week for the last 6 years and basically contributed nothing. This myth his severe injury ruined him is a fallacy if you recall his appearances before that, eg, v Wolves.

His career stats show him to be a guy who's slow, petulant, and prone to giving away free-kicks – all in the name of his “creativity” even though his career stats for goals and assists would embarrass the tackler Gueye.

But putting that aside, Klopp, Dyche and Pickford have all described Lonergan as some great professional who builds camaraderie with the other goalies, is a great training mate and a top bloke. So in that respect, given Pickford is our best player, I stand by my assertion that he will be more missed – even if his contribution is on a low wage behind the scenes.

He had also lost us at least three games with defensive blunders, like hack fouls around our own area. And it's not like the injury was an end-of-the-world catastrophe -- he missed 14 games, just over a third of a season, and stepped (unfortunately) right back into the starting 11. But let's face it, we're stuck with this myth forever.

Regarding Young and Gana, simply no choice. We had to keep them. Financial circumstances dictate no other option.

Harrison's wages of £90k do not represent value. He is really unproductive in terms of goals and assists for a wide man.

Everton are just allowing Dele Alli to continue his recovery from injury with Everton. We haven't offered him a new contract so what is the problem?

On Gomes, he has been a poor investment but discussing a double leg break like he had a calf strain is ridiculous. Very few players return as the same player from that.

Still we have a team and manager capable of midtable safety. A few years of that will do for me and my ageing heart.

Dele Alli? Well, we're just nice. His signing baffles me but having done so, we're supporting him. I like us.

It makes sense to keep some experienced players in the squad, and we won't be able to sign anyone to replace them.
I'm not missing Gomes, Alli, or Onana if he goes. Not many memories of them to stick in the mind, they didn't even get close to reaching the heights of a Vinny Samways.

It's not going to be much fun scraping through the barrel this summer. I just hope we hold on to our best 4 players and stay afloat for another crack at mid-table.

I'd be happy enough about Young if he was back-up only.

I'm intrigued by the Alli bit. I could definitely be looking for a story that isn't there but why are they telling us that he's continuing his rehab? Why not just say his contract is up and he's leaving the club if that's the case?

Gomes and Coleman are no-brainers. Hopefully Seamus and his family can resist the lure of Killybegs for another year.

Everton are in negotiations with Leeds regarding Harrison's future. Branthwaite, Onana and Pickford will be put in the shop window to get a valuation.

A few part deals may be attempted regarding Keane and Godfrey. Dele Alli to continue his rehab training at Everton though his contract is coming to an end.

I know it's a long shot but I would love Branthwaite to stay for one more season.

I am really puzzled why there is so much speculation about Dele, he has trousered £10.4M since he has been here, but spent more time in London to be closer to his rehabilitation team. Probably the worst bit of business this club has ever done.

Gomes has always been a classy fellow. Not sad to finally get his wages off the books, but I'm glad he managed to contribute a little this season. I honestly wasn't expecting him to feature under Dyche at all.

I can see him and Dele joining the Saudi exodus. It might suit them better.

The real interest is going to be how much we get for Branthwaite and Onana, and who we bring in cheaply or on loan.

No different from most walks of life to be fair.

I'm not in the least bit sad to see Gomes go, Danny. Despite a few unexpected decent cameos, he has offered us very little indeed for years now. There are plenty of good technical midfielders out there who don't have his flaws or his eye-watering salary.

I'm relieved to get him off the books so we have the financial wriggle room to sign someone of ability who does contribute.

On a similar note, it is a big relief to be free of Dele Alli's huge wages. None of us know what the future holds for him but I'm not convinced he'll ever play football again – even in Saudi Arabia.

I also hope Coleman signs on and has better luck with injuries. Gomes had to go with his salary and injury record. Danjuma is not a Dyche kind of player.

The hard choice for me is Harrison. I believe we have the opportunity to sign him for £16M but, as we don't have any money but this only happens with the sale of Pickford, Branthwaite or Onana.

I can possibly see Onana and Branthwaite leaving for around £120M and only £30M to £40M reinvested into the squad. If we blow half the money on Harrison improving our squad will be hard.

Where was he after the Sheffield United game?

Keeping the oldies is where the club is at (cheers, teary).

Can't deny Gueye was class towards the end of the season, though. Even Young rolled back the years, and Seamus when it counted.

Any other 30-somethings in the free transfer market?

Hopefully Dyche and Thewell can now bring in some players on more reasonable wages that can contribute more to the first team than the players leaving did. He brought in some decent talent at Burnley on a budget such as Tarkowski, Keane, McNeil who are now playing for us. So hopefully he can do the same thing again at Everton.

If we think we have wriggle room following Gomes's and Alli's wages being removed, think again. We're still overspending even with them gone.

It's going to take getting rid of Doucoure, Pickford, Calvert-Lewin, Gana and Tarkowski and finding replacements on lower salaries to bring us in line with the new rules.

I suspect we'll see a self-imposed salary cap over the next 2 years… that is if the club are serious about the rules and becoming a viable business. I expect a high level of player turnover in the next two seasons

Those players who underperformed: Doucoure, Onana if staying – I can't see Onana being kept – need to take a look at videos of their performances and pull their fingers out of their hoops and perform better.

Fingers crossed there's some hungry young players from lower leagues or abroad wanting to play Premier League football but they have to be free and on reasonable wages.

Hopefully Branthwaite won't be sold but having no money possibly be forced to. It's going to be a looooooong break…

I strongly expect a new right-back to come in over summer and Patterson to leave either for a fairly small fee or on loan. Given the interest from quite a few clubs, we could probably get about £10M for Godfrey and that's probably too good to turn down for a utility player with only 12 months left on his contract.

The issue Dyche and Thelwell have is knowing how much they will have to spend but fingers crossed they'll have some idea as soon as possible. The ongoing joke over the sale of the club can't give them much hope of having a fair budget.

The latter sounds interesting, maybe we retain an interest in him getting on the pitch in a blue shirt?

Danjuma and Harrison to return to parent clubs, but we may be in discussion with Leeds regarding Harrison, depends on if they are promoted through the play-offs.

Also (not even joking one bit), I would let Virginia start as Number 1 and save the dough as he looks very capable when called upon. He's a unit and looks mature.

Players that will have to be sold:
Maupay - think he did enough to create some interest - 5 - 8 mil
Holgate - 1- 3 mil to the Championship
Keane - 8 - 10 mil
Godfrey - 7 - 12 mil

If Jarad goes then we'll keap 1 of these, my bet is Keane, but I think he needs a fresh start somewhere else. Solid defender on his day and full England international not that long ago. Definitely have to bring in some new defensive players on the cheap or for free.

Selling Dom might also give Beto a confidence boost, knowing he's our number 1 striker. I'd rather start Chermiti though. His 1 start showed lots of promise. He's quick and good with his feet for a big lad. Brings others down into play. Could be future of our strike force with little Dobbin playing off him.

Unless Dyche comes up with a system that puts both on the field, I would expect Beto to grab the first offer from Italy that comes his way. He was happy there.

We may be on the cusp of a better investor, if we can exclude 777 from any deal. That investor could reimburse 777 and invest in our club (within Masters rules of course lol).

Hang on in there, and wait and see before off loading the players, who I believe have the Everton bug and are loyal to us as a club that may be going places soon. Who knows?

Young was supposedly on £40kpw last season With another year on the clock I'd hope the new offer is at least less. Even £30kpw is still £1.5m a year so hardly chicken feed. Also, at 39 he really should not be making 30+ league appearances. We need to sort out a proper RB if Patterson isn't up to it so Young is cover for either flank.

Gueye is more interesting. He was on £80kpw so one of our top earners. Whilst he's younger I also hope the extension is on lower terms but can imagine it's probably on similar terms as it was already in his contract. Tbh he turns 35 in September and speed was never his strength so hopefully got another top flight season in him. He's certainly played well enough the last couple of months and allows us to cash in on Onana to clear the books.

Gomes and Ali should 100% be off the wage bill entirely - they've combined cost us over £10m this season for about 5 appearances.

Personally I don't want Harrison, on loan or god forbid permanent. He was supposedly on £90kpw. Nuts when Branthwaite is on about £35k.