Welcome to the Liverpool ECHO's Sunday 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.
There has been an update on the injury suffered by Nathan Patterson while on international duty with Scotland earlier this week. Plus, news has emerged over Manchester United's reported interest in Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, while the future of midfielder Allan, who has not played so far this season under Frank Lampard, remains a hot topic of conversation.
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Key Events
Allan exit confirmed
Allan has completed a move to Al-Wahda of the UAE Pro League.
The midfielder joined Everton in September 2020 from Napoli but has not featured for the Blues in any competition this term. His contract at the club was set to expire at the end of the current campaign.
WELCOME ALLAN
— AlWahda FC نادي الوحدة (@AlWahdaFCC) September 25, 2022
TO HOME OF CHAMPIONS #WHDFC pic.twitter.com/tLBmSFsBai
Everton Women player ratings
Everton Women player ratings and scores after the superb 3-0 victory over Liverpool Women at Anfield.
Conor Coady makes 'massive' Everton admission after Wolves move
Conor Coady says he couldn't be prouder to now wear the blue shirt of Everton and described this month's Merseyside derby as the best atmosphere he has ever played it.
The 29-year-old, who started his football career with local rivals Liverpool, before going on to achieve success with Wolverhampton Wanderers, made a loan switch to Goodison Park - with an option to buy - on August 8 and has already established himself as a fan favourite with his leadership and organisation skills.
And the St Helens-born defender, who converted from midfield under Nuno Espirito Santo at Molineux, thought he had scored what would have been a winning goal against Liverpool just four weeks later, only to see the goal overturned on a VAR review. Despite the disappointment of his disallowed goal Coady revealed that the experience of playing in a game of such magnitude at Goodison Park was special in its own right.
New Everton Stadium milestone as 'ultra-sleek' roof trusses being constructed
The first of the roof trusses that will support what the club describe as the ultra-sleek roof of Everton Stadium is being assembled pitchside.
The skeleton of the giant steel roof is being constructed atop the two, temporary rigs within the bowl of the stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Next month, it is anticipated the first of the trusses will be lifted into place in the south stand – which is set to become the largest single-tier stand in the city, housing approximately 13,000 Evertonians – where they will initially be supported by more temporary works built within the stand.
Spaces have been left in the assembly of the concrete terracing units to accommodate these supporting structures. Work will then continue to build and install the trusses, which will eventually form the framework of the roof across the south and north stands – later joined by the roof installations in the west and east stands.
Liverpool Women vs Everton Women LIVE
Follow LIVE updates from the Women's Super League clash at Anfield between Merseyside rivals Liverpool Women and Everton Women.
Allan 'one step away' from leaving Everton
Allan is reportedly close to securing a move away from Everton.
According to Italian news outlet Calciomercato, Allan has agreed personal terms with United Arab Emirates side Al-Wahda.
The transfer window in the UAE remains open until early October, with the report stating that the deal for Allan to leave Everton is “one step away”.
Four creative midfielders Everton could sign in January
The wheels are already very much in motion at Everton as the club looks toward the January transfer window.
The i reported earlier this week that an attacking midfielder is a big priority for the Blues and their manager Frank Lampard and director of football Kevin Thelwell in the January transfer window.
The duo started the revamp of the Everton squad in the summer and the majority of the eight signings they made have blended into the first team seamlessly. But, while the vulnerabilities of a leaky defence and immobile midfield have been addressed, there are still problems further forward. Everton have netted five goals in seven Premier League games so far this season - more than only West Ham United and Wolves - and are yet to score more than once in a single match.
Anthony Gordon has added goals to his game while Neal Maupay - one of the new boys - will have been relieved to get off the mark early on with his superb strike last weekend earning the Blues a 1-0 home win over West Ham and their first three points of the Premier League season. But more creativity is needed across the attacking unit and the club's attempts to sign Mohamed Kudus and Mykhaylo Mudryk toward the end of the summer window suggests Lampard and Thelwell know that already.
So with Everton looking likely to sign a marquee creator in January, here are four potential options.
Nathan Patterson given Andy Robertson challenge by team-mate
Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey can battle to be Scotland's first choice right-back just like Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney do at left-back.
That's the view of Brentford player Hickey who replaced Patterson in the early stages of his country's recent win against Ukraine after the emerging Everton star was forced off injured. Hickey was able to nullify the threat of summer Blues target Mykhaylo Mudryk, helping to add weight to his claim on the coveted right-back berth.
After a period in international football where Scotland have been blessed with two outstanding left-backs in the shape of captain Robertson and Arsenal's Tierney, Patterson and Hickey are looking to replicate the battle on the opposite flank in Steve Clarke's defence.
Everton defender sends Liverpool warning as aims for season outlined
Everton Women will look to bounce back from their opening weekend defeat to West Ham United when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The Blues had a disappointing start to their 2022/23 campaign under new manager Brian Sorensen as Lisa Evans' goal on the brink of half-time separated the two sides on the day. After a 10th-placed finish in the Women's Super League last term, it's been a summer of change for Everton as the new boss was tasked with bringing a new identity to the team.
Despite the narrow defeat at the Hammers, defender Megan Finnigan says Sorensen's arrival has been 'refreshing' for the Blues as they look to improve on last season's struggles.
“It’s been really good and really refreshing to have that stability because last year was a really challenging year for everyone," she told the ECHO. "To have him come in and steady the ship has been really nice because we needed that.
“He brings a clear philosophy with him, he’s got a very clear way of playing, which is starting to show. Everyone seems to be really enjoying it and the girls he’s brought in as well have gelled really well with the group.”
Read the full story HERE.
Mykhaylo Mudryk drops huge transfer hint after Everton offer rejected
Mykhaylo Mudryk has dropped his biggest hint yet that he's eyeing up a move to the Premier League following Everton's attempts to sign the highly-rated 21-year-old.
The Shakhtar Donetsk winger, who identifies Cristiano Ronaldo as his inspiration, already has two Champions League goals and assists to his name this season, but if Everton had got their way, he might have been playing in the Premier League in a Blue shirt already.
The Ukrainian club's sporting director Darijo Srna recently revealed that Shakhtar rejected a €30million offer from the Toffees for their star man in the summer transfer window. The Blues had been linked with Mudryk towards the end of August but their exact intentions had not been clear until Srna gave details about the offer they had received.
Shakhtar's valuation of their prize asset may have discouraged Everton on this occasion, but he is a target that they may look to revisit, particularly following new comments from the player himself.
Read the full story HERE.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Allan questions answered plus more things spotted in Everton training
Everton’s remaining players have been working hard at Finch Farm during in the current international break as they look to build upon their first Premier League win of the season when they defeated David Moyes’ West Ham United 1-0 at Goodison Park last time out.
The Blues return to action at Southampton on October 1 and here are some things we spotted from photographs released from their Friday training session.
Neal Maupay became the latest darling of the Gwladys Street when he netted his first Everton goal in front of the famous old stand to secure the three points against the Hammers with an instinctive turn and finish and the reputed £15million signing from Brighton & Hove Albion was in the thick of the action here too.
However, there was no sign of fellow striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was left out of the matchday squad against West Ham with Frank Lampard saying: “We have to be cautious with him rather than take a risk because we want him for the long-term so it was more of a precaution” with subsequent claims suggesting he is now under supervision for a minor groin injury.
Check out more things spotted in training HERE.
Everton 'keen' on deal for Napoli forward
Napoli winger Hirving Lozano could be a winter transfer target for Everton, according to reports.
The 27-year-old Mexican international is currently frustrated by a lack of game time at his Serie A club, leading to reports that he will look to make a move away from Gli Azzurri when the January transfer window opens. According to Marca, four clubs are interested in the player nicknamed 'Chucky'.
Manchester United, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig are three of the clubs mentioned, but Frank Lampard's side is the other. Lozano still has two years left on his Napoli contract and it is believed that any move away would likely cost Everton around £26.8milllion (€30milllion).
Read the full story HERE.
Trevor Steven wants a football mental health revolution
Everton legend Trevor Steven is tackling construction site workers’ vulnerability to suicide and urging those who work in the industry to complete an anonymous survey seeking solutions to the issue.
Former England World Cup player Steven was part of Everton’s most-successful team in the 1980s, winning two League Championships, an FA Cup and European Cup-Winners’ Cup, scoring both in the final and semi-final of the latter, which were among the 60 goals he netted in 299 appearances. And he is now Causeway Technologies’ mental health ambassador.
He told the ECHO: “I’d taken a strong interest in elite performance mentality, studied it and was looking at doing talks on it for corporate audiences and Phil (Brown, chief executive of Causeway Technologies) got in touch with me and told me about his partnership with Everton in the Community and how they had donated money into the building of The People’s Place on Spellow Lane.
“He’s a lifelong Evertonian, originally from L4 and his business provides products and solutions for the construction industry so he told me that he wanted to give something back to that sector. We talked about it and discovered the chronic statistics that are in and around the construction industry where mental health is concerned.
“I’d been studying all about the brain and how we react to things so the opportunity arose for me to work with them as an ambassador. Here was a firm with 500 people and with my Everton connection we felt there was synergy and an opportunity to join the dots between mental health, construction and football.
Read the full exclusive interview HERE.
Dele Alli wasn't on Besiktas's 'list'
Everton midfielder Dele Alli was not on a list of targets to join Beskitas, the Turkish club's sporting director has admitted.
However, when the opportunity arose to bring him to Istanbul on loan, they were only too happy to make it happen.
With no guarentees over a first team place with the Blues, Alli followed former Everton striker Cenk Tosun to Besiktas on a season-long loan deal. He has so far made two appearances for his new club, scoring once.
Besiktas Sporting Director Ceyhun Kazanci said: “Dele Alli was not a player on our list, but opportunity for such transfers can arise. We wanted to add such a player to our squad.”
The 26-year-old has missed a couple of games with injury but is expected to return in time for next weekend's Istanbul derby against Fenerbahce.
Allan has transfer 'agreement' to leave club
Everton midfielder Allan has 'reached an agreement' to leave Goodison Park and join UAE-based side Al-Wahda, according to reports.
Football Insider claims the Brazilian, who is yet to make a Premier League appearance for the Toffees this season, has agreed on a deal with Al-Wahda, who are managed by former Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal, and offered the midfielder a route out of Merseyside after a difficult few months.
Allan was signed by Carlo Ancelotti in the summer of 2020 from Napoli as part of a midfield shake-up which included James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure, but has failed to impress Frank Lampard since the former Chelsea boss succeeded Rafa Benitez in January. Subsequently, Lampard has rather decided to bolster his ranks with the signing of Lille midfielder Amadou Onana and rewarding the ever-impressive Alex Iwobi with an extended run in the side.
Read the full story HERE.
Manchester United 'monitoring' Jordan Pickford Everton contract talks
Everton's No.1 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has 'clubs closely monitoring his situation', according to new reports.
Pickford, who joined the Blues from his boyhood club Sunderland in 2017 for £30m, has just two years left on his current deal at Goodison Park.
The England international has enjoyed mixed fortunes during his time on Merseyside. But despite cementing himself as England's first-choice shot-stopper under manager Gareth Southgate, Pickford has attracted large bouts of criticism for his over-eagerness and capacity to make mistakes during his time at the Blues.
However, the 28-year-old appears to have matured in recent seasons and evidently developed under the stewardship of Frank Lampard since he took over Rafa Benitez as Everton manager in January. Pickford played an instrumental role in the Toffees narrowly escaping relegation to the Championship last term.
Read the full story HERE.
Nathan Patterson 'not serious' injury claim made
Everton have been handed a potential boost over the fitness of Nathan Patterson.
The Evertonright-back was stretchered off just 20 minutes into Scotland’s Nations League win over Ukraine on Wednesday night with concerns over his fitness after he indicated pains in his leg and his knee. The medical team at Hampden Park needed more than five minutes to treat Patterson before he was withdrawn from the pitch.
Now, according to the Scottish Daily Express, the injury to the 20-year-old is deemed “not serious”. The report also claims that Patterson is only expected to be sidelined for a short period of time, but does not elaborate any further.
Read the full story HERE.
