Everton in talks to sign “exceptional” PL star

Everton made the decision to part ways with Sean Dyche earlier this month and that left them in the market to bring in a manager who would be capable of helping them to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The Toffees made the relatively swift decision to bring David Moyes back to Goodison Park for a second spell at the club, coming in for their next league clash with Aston Villa, which ended in a 1-0 defeat.

They have, however, won their last two matches in the Premier League and are now seven points clear of the relegation zone, whilst also having the Merseyside derby as their game in hand.

The highlight of Moyes’ return so far has been the 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park, which was his first win back at the club.

Whilst it has been a terrific start for the Scottish head coach, who moved on from West Ham United at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, he could still want to add more quality to his squad in the coming days.

The January transfer window is set to officially slam shut at the start of next week and the Toffees are reportedly looking at possible additions to the group.

Everton considering new Chelsea loan

According to Football Insider, Everton are looking at what they can do with Armando Broja before the end of the window as they consider sending him back to his parent club Chelsea, due to his ongoing injury issues.

The report claims that the two clubs are in talks over the possibility of the Albania international returning to Stamford Bridge, to be replaced by another loanee from the Blues.

It states that left-back Ben Chilwell, and midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are potential options to join the Toffees on loan for the second half of the season.

The outlet reveals that talks are ongoing between the two Premier League clubs to agree a separate loan deal for one of those three players, although it does not reveal whether or not there is a frontrunner at this moment in time.

Football Insider adds that Moyes has targeted several positions that he would like to strengthen before next week’s deadline; central midfielder, centre-forward, and left-back.

Chilwell is one of the three players they are in talks with Chelsea over a potential loan deal for, which means that they could fill the left-back position by bringing the former England international to Goodison Park before the end of the January transfer window.

Everton do, of course, already have a first-choice left-back who has been a regular in the team in recent seasons – Ukraine international Vitaliy Mykolenko.

Vitaliy Mykolenko’s form for Everton

The 25-year-old defender, who joined from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2022, has had mixed success throughout his three years at Goodison Park so far.

Mykolenko has looked like a competent defender who can provide a solid option down the left flank at times, with 3.1 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premier League this season, but he is also susceptible to poor moments.

The Ukraine international has been dribbled past 0.9 times per match on average this season and has made one error that directly led to a shot for the opposition and given away a penalty, which shows that he has made mistakes and that opposition players have found it too easy to dribble past him.

Along with his defensive liabilities, Mykolenko has let himself down with his lack of quality at the top end of the pitch from a left-back position.

As you can see in the table above, the Everton left-back has offered very little in the final third from a creative perspective, with zero assists in his Premier League career, spanning three years to date.

This suggests that the Toffees could improve their team by bringing in a left-back who is less likely to make defensive mistakes, whilst also providing a threat when pushing on into the opposition half.

Why Everton should sign Ben Chilwell

Firstly, it has to be acknowledged that signing Chilwell on loan from Chelsea would be a short-term risk because he missed 33 games through injury last season and has been out-of-favour under Enzo Maresca this term.

This means that Everton would be bringing in a player who has not played much football over the past 18 months. However, that could also be seen as an opportunity for both parties, as the defender would get an opportunity to finally play regular football, and Moyes could look to get him back to his best.

Chilwell, who was dubbed “exceptional” by Brendan Rodgers, has played 169 Premier League matches in his career for Leicester and Chelsea combined and has been capped 21 times by England, which suggests that the experience is there for him to be able to hit the ground running at Goodison Park.

In his two seasons with at least 20 appearances in the Premier League for the Blues, the 27-year-old ace caught the eye with his play at both ends of the pitch.

As you can see in the table above, Chilwell has the potential to offer a threat at the top end of the pitch, having produced five goals and seven assists in those two seasons combined, without making any major errors defensively.

These statistics suggest that he could come in as a big upgrade on Mykolenko, particularly in possession, as the current Toffees defender has offered close to nothing in that regard.

Of course, Chilwell’s lack of game time over the past 18 months, with just 13 Premier League appearances since the start of last term, is a concern and that is why he may be available on loan in the first place.

It is a gamble that could be worth it for the Toffees, though, as he has the quality to come in as a big upgrade on Mykolenko if he can stay fit and hit his stride.