Sean Dyche makes Dele Alli transfer decision amid official Everton announcement today
There has been a lot of talk about what Everton are going to do with Dele Alli this summer after his return from a shocking loan spell at Besiktas.
The attacking midfielder is into the final 12 months of his contract at Goodison Park and looked to be on the brink of an exit earlier this summer, with some reports even suggesting he was considering retirement.
But after his emotional interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap, the former England international said he was enjoying football again and looking forward to the new season whether it as at Everton or elsewhere.
But it now seems as though Sean Dyche may have made his decision on the future of Dele, by handing him his favoured No.20 shirt for the upcoming season.
Dele wore No.36 after signing from Tottenham in his first six months of his spell at the club, before leaving for Besiktas.
But now that he has returned he will take the shirt number he wore and made famous at White Hart Lane, taking over from Neal Maupay who moves to the No.13.
It’s easy to say that we may be looking too much into this, but to take a shirt from one member of the first-team to give to someone who doesn’t have a future at the club would be beyond strange. If it was already vacant, then that might be a different story.
At his best Dele is one of the best goalscoring midfielders this country has seen in a long time, but it’s been a while since we have seen that version of him.
Dyche has a clear gap in the team that could fit him in and if we get a version of Dele that is happy and firing then it could be a masterstroke for Everton to get him back involved.
A new shirt number suggests a clean slate and a fresh start to life at Goodison Park, and fingers crossed we get the old Dele back.
In other Everton news, Michael Owen has made his Everton relegation prediction for the new season.
READ MORE :
JUST IN : Everton now officially announces to sign dominant” £189k-p/w big name player
Everton: Blues now favourites to sign Harry Maguire
The Man United centre-back could be on the move this summer
Everton have now leapfrogged other Premier League clubs to lead the race to sign Manchester United and England centre-back Harry Maguire this summer.
How much does Harry Maguire earn?
The 30-year-old has had a tough time of late, losing his place in United’s regular starting lineup, and having to make do with a squad role instead. Only eight Premier League starts came his way last season and Erik ten Hag has now made the decision to take the captaincy away from him, giving it to Bruno Fernandes instead.
For that reason, it could be that the £189,000-a-week-earning Maguire looks for a move away this summer, in order to be a regular elsewhere and keep his place in England’s team secure ahead of Euro 2024 next summer. His current deal at Old Trafford expires in 2025, but the Red Devils could jump at the chance to earn good money for him now.
Everton are eyeing defensive reinforcements ahead of the new season that starts later this month, with Conor Coady’s loan move not made permanent at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, and it looks as though the United and England man could now be a serious target.
Could Everton sign Harry Maguire?
According to Football Insider, Everton are now in pole position to snap up Maguire this summer, jumping ahead of others in the queue:
Everton have leapfrogged Tottenham and West Ham in the race to sign Man United defender Harry Maguire, sources have told Football Insider. The three Premier League clubs, as well as Chelsea, have registered their interest in signing the England centre-back before the window shuts.
“United are willing to sell Maguire, 30, but he is on big wages of nearly £200,000-a-week and that deal runs for two more years.”
There is no question that Maguire’s form has dipped in recent years, having initially being a strong player for England, earning him a move to United in the first place, but he could be an excellent signing by Everton.
While Ten Hag’s style of play doesn’t suit the Englishman, with his high line exposing the centre-back’s lack of pace, Sean Dyche’s lower block could be ideal for him, allowing him to showcase his aerial dominance and leadership.
Maguire won three aerial duels per game across five appearances at the 2022 World Cup, highlighting that area of his game, but he also averaged 2.6 clearances per match in the Premier League last season. A tally of 57 England caps and 175 United appearances shows the experience that he now possesses, and he could form an impressive defensive partnership with James Tarkowski, rebuilding his career in the process.
Ten Hag has still hailed Maguire as a “dominant” player recently, despite losing his place, as well as praising his “dictating of the game”, and if Everton are willing to spend fairly big on him, he could prove to be an underrated signing who is perfect for the Blues.
It could be that he is desperate to fight for his place at United, though, which could put paid to the move happening, but while some may turn their noses up at the idea of him at Goodison Park, we think he’ll prove them wrong if a deal goes through.
