Everton begin a crucial week in their pre-season preparation today. This afternoon, the Blues take on Stuttgart to end their time in Germany. It is then Newcastle United in Edinburgh, and Lille at Hill Dickinson Stadium. That’s two teams that have qualified for this season’s Champions League and, in Newcastle, one that reached the knockout stages of last year’s competition.
Positive Momentum Despite Challenges
Results mean little in pre-season but it would be wrong to say they are irrelevant. Positive momentum is always useful and that much has been clear to me since David Moyes’ side left Hamburg last week. The win may have been through a fortuitous late goal, but it nonetheless allowed the squad to head to their Black Forest retreat feeling a little more at ease.
I have been fortunate enough to join them - first in Hamburg, then at the squad’s training base on Thursday afternoon as part of the ECHO’s unrivalled coverage of the Blues’ pre-season. Spirits remain high after what those involved view as a positive week in their secluded resort. Days of double training sessions at SV Aasen’s base near the origin of the Danube have tested the players, as have the additional workshops on set-pieces and individual training programmes as the players seek to be ready for the visit of Crystal Palace on August 22.
Transfer Priorities and Right-Back Dilemma
Quite how it is coming together remains unclear. The ease with which Iliman Ndiaye has returned and assimilated despite the speculation over his future has helped, as has the addition of Christian Norgaard, who has not joined the group but whose signing is widely viewed as a positive addition. There are a lot of midfielders in the first team squad who believe they are strongest when allowed to go box-to-box and several of them are hopeful Norgaard will provide them the freedom to play their natural game.
As well as the visible progress towards full fitness of Jarrad Branthwaite and Hayden Hackney as both started in Hamburg, the sight of James Garner on the training pitches has also been helpful. There remains work to do, however, on the training pitch and in the transfer market. The priority is still a right back and the issue threatens to cast a shadow over the final weeks of the off-season.
The suggestion Everton’s interest in Celtic’s Alistair Johnston has ‘cooled’ has been met by some scepticism at some within the club, where the position is that the Canada international has been one of several options being considered to address a problem that Moyes spent most of this year willing to publicly acknowledge. Whatever the fine details, that the Blues were sufficiently interested to speak to his manager over their interest suggests it was genuine and the decision to hold back - reportedly over his value - is an intriguing one given the desperate need to solve an issue that has been clear for several years now.
Three-Fold Problem Looms
The problem for Everton is becoming three-fold: The longer they go without signing a right back, the tougher it will be for him to settle in for the start of the season. The closer the deadline gets without a breakthrough, the more likely Everton are to have their desperation exploited. And the club’s best option in that slot, Garner, is facing a battle to be fit for the start of the season following his minor groin operation.
That is an unhappy mix for a recruitment team that came together at the end of last summer and which has, therefore, had some 11 months to prepare for this issue. There is, of course, still time to do business. And as challenging as the week ahead looks, the Blues may be able to take some comfort from the state of Newcastle if they can take advantage of the instability there when the sides meet at Murrayfield on Wednesday. But the coming week could prove tough and, whatever happens, it will help to set the tone for the start of the new season.
A bigger issue than what unfolds on the pitch is the right back problem though. Given the need for a right back for so long, that is what those at Finch Farm will be judged on come the end of the window. In a game in which momentum matters, supporters will no doubt be deflated if they arrive on the waterfront in two weeks to the news O’Brien or Merlin Rohl is at right back. It would be helpful for everyone, from Moyes to the fans to his teammates if a specialist is brought in. Hopefully that will soon be the case - it certainly needs to be.
