Welcome to the Liverpool ECHO's Monday blog for all your latest Everton news.
The ECHO will provide breaking stories, reaction and comments to all the big talking points from Goodison Park as well as keeping tabs on transfer market gossip from around the world.
Everton are set to open talks with Alex Iwobi over a new contract, with the Nigerian midfielder's current deal ending in 2025, while a number of Championship clubs are reportedly interested in signing free agent Fabian Delph, who was released from Goodison Park in the summer following the expiry of his contract.
And we'll have all the reaction and the fallout from the Blues' hard-fought 1-0 home win over David Moyes' West Ham United on Sunday.
Get involved in the comments section and send your thoughts to @LivEchoEFC.
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Alan Shearer names two Everton players in his Team of the Week
Everton finally registered their first Premier League win of the season against West Ham United on Saturday and their efforts didn't go unnoticed by Alan Shearer.
The former Newcastle United and England striker named both James Tarkowski and Alex Iwobi in his Team of the Week.
Speaking on the Premier League website, Shearer said: “James Tarkowski – A tower of strength at the back for Everton. Alex Iwobi – Much-improved performance and set up the winning goal.”
Neal Maupay and Alex Iwobi make all the difference
The first part of our latest column from Michael Ball discusses Everton's win over West Ham United on Sunday.
In the West Ham game, I said in last week's column that I was prioritising the points over the performance. As the game went on it was lacking tempo, maybe the break went against us and we had our momentum taken away from us.
You were thinking that it would be another draw, another game that's gone by without us taking the opportunity to get maximum points. Where was the goal going to come from?
But what we lacked in the first five games, and what we had against West Ham, was a striker. And that made the difference.
He had the one bit of quality, the one opportunity that was presented to him. It was so important for the football club, and especially for Frank Lampard, that we got three points - and Neal Maupay made sure of that.
We're playing some good football but we do leave ourselves open at times, so it's good that our defence is fantastic. Nathan Patterson made a vital tackle towards the end, Conor Coady and James Tarkowski covered each other very well, Vitalii Mykolenko was strong in his tackles.
That gives you a great base when you've got a back four who are playing on top of their form and the best of their ability, the opposition have got to work hard to create opportunities. When West Ham had chances it wasn't easy for them.
Read the first part of Michael Ball's column in full HERE.
Dutch praise for Jarrad Branthwaite
It's been a good weekend for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
The 20-year-old is currently on loan with Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and not only did he help Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side go top of the league by beating Feyenoord 4-3, but he also managed to find the back of the net, scoring the home side's first goal of the game, pulling the two sides level at 1-1.
Former PSV player Aad De Mos was impressed with Branthwaite and insisted that he cannot now be left out of the team. De Mos said: "It must never be taken out of the base again. He is very strong positionally. He can ensure that confidence returns to the PSV defence.”
How much Everton have overpaid for transfers in the past decade
When it comes to overspending on player transfers in the last 10 years, Everton are ranked in the top 10 clubs across Europe.
The Blues' transfer dealings have been pitted against those of their Premier League rivals and teams from across five of the top leagues in Europe. The results ranked Frank Lampard's side as ninth overall in the revealing run-down of leading names across the continent.
The CIES Football Observatory has analysed deals involving England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France. Although the Toffees are in the top 10, they were not the biggest overspending team from the Premier League. The data used is based on incomings since July 2012 and only for teams who have paid a fee for a minimum of 10 players during the 10-year stretch.
Read the full story HERE.
'Cristiano Ronaldo' moment summed up how Everton are now a very different beast
Predictably, outsiders have taken much longer to cotton on but Everton are a very different beast now than they were a year ago, but if one passage of play from the victory over West Ham United on Sunday summed that up it was James Tarkowski’s challenge on Michail Antonio that almost put the visiting striker into the front rows of the Lower Bullens.
It might not be a tackle that will ultimately resonate to quite the magnitude of Phil Neville’s brutal boneshaker on his former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo on a similar area of the Goodison Park turf back in 2008 but it demonstrated that the Blues are at long last, no longer a Premier League outfit to be trifled with.
With 90 seconds remaining of what had been a pretty turgid first half up until that point, Hammers’ right-back Vladimir Coufal, knocked a ball into the right wing channel for Antonio to run on to and while it initially looked like being a straight foot race between him and Everton left-back Vitalii Mykolenko, in came Tarkowski with a perfectly-timed firm but fair slide tackle that left Antonio rolling on the deck and the Blues man’s own Ukrainian international team-mate flinching to get out of the way.
Read the full story HERE.
Simms on course to return after international break
Everton forward Ellis Simms is set to return from injury after the international break, according to Chronicle Live.
The 21-year-old is currently on loan with Championship side Sunderland, but was forced off against Reading in mid-week with a toe injury.
It had been hoped that he would recover in time to face Watford at the weekend, but he was not risked by the Black Cats.
Speaking after the 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road, Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray said: "It was touch and go for Ellis. The common-sense thing to do was not to expose a problem with his toe that could have easily seen him go down after five or ten minutes.
"It's OK having a jog about and thinking you're OK, but in a Championship match there's no hiding place. I think it made more sense to give him a couple of weeks, and then I would hope that by the Preston game when we restart, he will be in contention.
"We'll have to wait and see, because until he starts and until he gets his boots on and starts sprinting, we won't know."
Frank Lampard made 'easy dressing room decision' to help inspire Everton's win over West Ham
Frank Lampard said he had no doubts over Conor Coady's ability to lead his side as the centre back took the captain's armband for the first time at Everton, writes Joe Thomas.
Coady was one of several players thought to be in contention for the role following the injury that ruled Jordan Pickford out of the game against West Ham United. Pickford had taken on the responsibility in each of the six Premier League games of the season so far.
Lampard had been secretive about who would step up, telling his pre-match press conference on Friday that he had made his decision but refusing to reveal his choice.
Liam Rosenior explains Lewis Dobbin decision
Derby County boss Liam Rosenior has explained the decision to leave Lewis Dobbin out of their squad for their win over Wycombe on Saturday.
The 19-year-old is on a season long loan with the League One side but was absent over the weekend. Rosenior confirmed the forward had picked up a minor groin strain and was left out as a precaution.
“I maybe could have played him and he was in my thoughts to start the game," he told Derbyshire Live.
“I am not going to risk him because he’s an outstanding young player.
“I didn’t want to play him for one game and then risk losing him for three months. It would not be fair on him.”
Alex Iwobi represents major change as Anthony Gordon need arises
Chris Beesley brings you the Everton analysis after Alex Iwobi stars in the 1-0 win against West Ham at Goodison Park.
- Midfield mix
Support for Gordon
Demarai Gray makes 'massive' Everton admission and sends Neal Maupay message
Demarai Gray believes Everton’s win over West Ham was 'mentally' massive for his side - and has hailed the arrival of Neal Maupay, writes Connor O'Neill.
The forward's second-half strike handed Everton a 1-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday afternoon. The victory at Goodison Park was the Blues' first in the Premier League this season.
There was a scare for Everton as Hammers substitute Said Benrahma's deflected left-foot shot struck the post in the second half, but they held on for consecutive league clean sheets for the first time in over a year.
'Another significant moment' - national media make same Everton point after West Ham win
Everton elevated themselves further up the Premier League table as they recorded their first Premier League win of the season on Sunday.
A narrow 1-0 victory over West Ham, courtesy of a goal from new signing Neal Maupay, proved to be enough for the Blues as they avoided dropping into the bottom three. West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City remain at the foot of the table, Brendan Rodgers' side now the only team without a win.
Frank Lampard 's side are now 13th in the standings and just one point off the top 10.
Here's what the national media made of a crucial afternoon at Goodison Park.
Allan 'attracting interest' from UAE
Everton midfielder Allan is 'attracting interest' from the Middle East, according to reports.
90min claims the club have 'received offers' from Qatar for the player, although the transfer window has now closed. Although, the window will remain open in the UAE until October 4, where there is also reported interest in the Brazilian.
Allan wasn't in the squad for Everton's 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday and Frank Lampard said in response to the player's future: "We'll see over the next week or two."
David Moyes makes Everton claim and gives 'truthful answer' about West Ham
As a manager who knows the power of the Goodison Park crowd as well as anybody, David Moyes was encouraged by how his West Ham United side responded to falling behind in a period in which the home fans and players were uplifted, writes Chris Beesley.
Everton’s first win of the season left the Hammers in the bottom three but the Scot, who was in charge of the Blues for over 11 years between 2002-13, said: “I thought as though that was the only period in which we were going to get any xGs (expected goals) at all. Our attacking play in the first half was ‘huff’ (sighing noise).
"I don’t know how many wrong decisions we made, I don’t know how many passes we gave away but I’ll tell you what, it was as high as I’ve sort of known it."
Fabian Delph interest
A number of clubs are looking at signing Fabian Delph, reports claim.
The 32-year-old departed Goodison Park this summer following the expiration of his contract, but he's yet to agree terms with a new club.
Now, FootballLeagueWorld claims Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Sunderland, West Brom and Rangers are all among those interested in signing Delph on a free transfer.
While top flight clubs have reportedly looked at the player, the report adds it is likely a Championship team that will sign the free agent.
Everton 'begin' Iwobi contract talks
Everton have 'opened' talks with Alex Iwobi over a new deal, reports claim.
The Athletic revealed on Monday the Blues are 'determined' to secure the futures of a number of first team players, including the likes of Jordan Pickford and Anthony Gordon. They've begun talks with Iwobi with discussions set to 'ramp up' in the coming weeks.
Frank Lampard makes Neal Maupay admission after first Everton goal
Frank Lampard said he was "delighted" for Neal Maupay after the forward responded to his Merseyside derby miss with the winner against West Ham United, writes Joe Thomas.
The 26-year-old had a glorious opportunity in the second half of the goalless draw with Liverpool but was thwarted by Alisson. In his first appearance since that debut he produced an emphatic finish to secure three points for Everton.
Maupay's moment of brilliance proved to be the difference on Sunday and lifted the Blues to 13th in the Premier League table. It consigned David Moyes' visitors to the bottom three heading into the international break.
It was the perfect response after Maupay had spent the past fortnight lamenting the missed opportunity in the derby. Speaking after the game, Lampard said he was aware Maupay had been disappointed not have scored that chance and therefore he was even happier with his contribution against West Ham.
Morning, Blues
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