Everton have finally managed to put some breathing space between themselves and the bottom three, with David Moyes getting his first victory against Tottenham at the weekend, with a 3-2 win at Goodison Park.
The Toffees now sit 16th in the Premier League on 20 points, with Wolves and Ipswich below them on 16 points in 17th and 18th place.
The biggest problem for Everton this season has been sticking the ball in the back of the net, scoring just 18 goals in 22 games, making them the second-lowest scorers in the division, only Southampton scoring fewer with 15.
Everton are currently averaging 11.3 shots per game (6th lowest in the division for this metric), which shows their shot creation could be far better in attacking areas, meaning a January addition could be on the cards in order to give Moyes the tools required to avoid that relegation battle.
Moyes chasing exciting winger at Everton
According to reports from a journalist working with Caught Offside, Everton have enquired about Sporting CP star, Marcus Edwards.
The 26-year-old has just 18 months left on his current deal, which is raising eyebrows at Everton as a potential opportunity to sign the English ace.
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The English winger predominantly operates as a right-winger, looking to cut inside on his stronger left foot, but has also shown the ability to play off the left, taking it to the byline and delivering crosses to his teammates. Edwards has, of course, played in England before, coming through the academy ranks at Tottenham.
Edwards has only made ten appearances for Sporting in all competitions this season, scoring three goals and totalling just 346 minutes. His lack of game time could provide the opportunity for Everton to strike, obtaining an extremely talented player for a fair price.
How Edwards compares to Everton target Nuamah
Another name Everton have been linked to in the window, is Olympique Lyon winger, Ernest Nuamah.
The 21-year-old winger has made 19 appearances for the French outfit in all competitions this season, scoring one goal, providing one assist and totalling 763 minutes played so far.
That said, his numbers are considerably worse than Edwards if we compare them across the last two campaigns.
|
Edwards (23/24) vs Nuamah (24/25) comparison |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90 mins) |
Edwards |
Nuamah |
|
Goals |
0.23 |
0.12 |
|
Assists |
0.23 |
0.12 |
|
xG |
0.30 |
0.24 |
|
xAG |
0.41 |
0.16 |
|
Progressive Carries |
5.21 |
4.94 |
|
Progressive Passes |
4.88 |
3.61 |
|
Total Shots |
2.19 |
2.82 |
|
Key Passes |
3.07 |
1.20 |
|
Passes into Pen Area |
2.51 |
1.81 |
|
Shot-Creating Actions |
5.77 |
4.46 |
|
Successful Take-Ons |
2.05 |
1.45 |
|
Stats taken from FBref |
||
When comparing Edwards’ metrics from last season due to lack of minutes this term with Nuamah’s numbers in 2024/25, you can see Edwards ranks ahead in all but one of the metrics analysed.
Now, this isn’t to say Nuamah’s numbers are poor, as most of them rank very closely, but the extra experience of Edwards does shine through in his underlying numbers and output.
Mauricio Pochettino said back in 2016, that Edwards plays like “the beginning of Messi” with Rob Daly then further reporting this and labelling one of Edwards’ runs against Tottenham as “Messi-like”.
That’s certainly evident in the stats as the English winger is a brilliant dribbler, completing 2.05 take-ons per 90 last season, also completing 5.21 progressive carries per 90, showing his quality to dribble and carry the ball out.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
As we mentioned at the beginning, Everton lack shot-creation and whilst Nuamah also has brilliant metrics in these departments, and would prove to be an excellent addition to the Everton squad, Edwards offers a more experienced and ready profile to join and make an instant impact, which could be the difference between Everton’s Premier League survival chances.
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