Welcome to our Everton FC live blog for Thursday March 2nd where we will be bringing you all the latest Blues news and transfer rumours.
Stick with us throughout the day as we bring you breaking stories, comments and reaction to all the big talking points from Goodison Park - as well as, of course, the latest transfer gossip from all over the globe.
Everton are reportedly showing an interest in signing Udinese star Rodrigo Becao, plus there is also an update on the future of Coventry City striker Victor Gyokeres.
Plus, we will be providing you with all of last night's Premier League clash between Everton and Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Get involved and send your thoughts to @LivEchoEFC.
And don't forget to subscribe to our free Everton FC newsletter, our YouTube channel and listen to our Royal Blue Podcast, with all your favourite ECHO regulars including Joe Thomas, Chris Beesley, Connor O'Neill, Gavin Buckland and Paul Wheelock.
Premier League matches
Everton take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon as they look to drag themselves out of the Premier League's bottom three with a win.
The Blues find themselves in 18th place after losses to Aston Villa and Arsenal in their last two matches.
Relegation rivals Leeds take on Chelsea in London while Bournemouth travel to the Emirates to take on Arsenal. West Ham face a tricky match at Brighton and Southampton host Leicester.
Game over
Full-time: Everton U21 0 - 3 PSV. Everton are out of the Premier League International Cup after goals from Isaac Babadi, Jenson Seelt and August Flyger secure Adil Ramzi's side a place in the last four.
Nathan Patterson
Nathan Patterson played just over an hour for Everton U21 tonight against PSV at Goodison Park in what is a huge boost for Sean Dyche.
Patterson has been out injured, but could soon be involved for Dyche's side after making his comeback.
PSV score again
On the 64 minute mark, PSV double their lead. Jenson Seelt fires past Crellin after #EFC fail to clear a corner. 0-2
PSV lead
PSV took the lead after the half hour mark. Callum Bates misjudges a long ball over the top and Simon Colyn races clear before passing to Isaac Babadi who finishes into the empty net. 0-1
Nathan Patterson
Big news for Everton tonight as Nathan Patterson is included in the starting XI for the young Blues at Goodison Park tonight after recovering from injury.
Patterson is yet to play for the Blues under new boss Sean Dyche yet.
Everton U21 vs PSV
Everton Under-21s take on PSV in the Premier League International Cup tonight at Goodison Park and we'll have all the updates here.
Stay tuned!
Will Everton beat the drop? Have your say
Everton were beaten 4-0 at Arsenal last night and are 18th in the Premier League. Will the Blues beat the drop or will they be playing in the Championship next season? Have your say here.
Sean Dyche issues challenge
After the Arsenal defeat, Dyche said work was ongoing to solve Everton’s away misery. Asked how he hoped to change it, he said: “You’ve got to bring a home mentality away. You’ve got to change the psyche of each individual because it spreads like wildfire - when you get players playing with that edge away from home, others join in. But someone has to start the process. No one gives it to you.
"The feeling at home is amazing, the fans have been exceptional since I got there. They were great again [at Arsenal] - to come all this way and be great again in their numbers. For 40 minutes they probably thought ‘alright, we are on it again'… All you can do is keep reinforcing it, all you can do is keep working with the players and help to give them that edge when they are away. But it’s been there a while. It’s not a new thing. It’s a work in progress.”
A huge game coming
Everton face another huge game on Saturday when they visit the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
The Blues have come crashing back down to Earth with losses against Aston Villa and Arsenal have left them in the bottom three after good wins over the Gunners and Leeds pulled them out.
Everton aren't showing much of a threat in front of goal and Dyche needs to somehow rectify this going forward. A tough task.
Sean Dyche shares fresh Dominic Calvert-Lewin injury update as Everton recovery plan confirmed
Sean Dyche said it would be a "close call" over whether Dominic Calvert-Lewin would be available for Everton's trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The striker has not featured for Dyche since being substituted in the second half of his first game as Blues boss against Arsenal at Goodison Park last month. His withdrawal, around the hour mark, was as a precaution over a hamstring issue but Dyche has focused on the need to rebuild his overall condition in the weeks that have followed.
He hinted that remained the case after Everton's defeat at Arsenal on Wednesday night. Everton's reliance on the 25-year-old as a focal point was once again underlined in the 4-0 defeat.
Dyche has expressly refused to discuss timelines when asked about Calvert-Lewin's fitness and when supporters can expect him back. The forward has suffered an injury ravaged 18 months and missed the start of this campaign with a knee injury, recovered to then be hit by shoulder, knee and hamstring issues before the World Cup break and then struggle as issues persisted into the new year.
Read the full story, here.
Everton and Aston Villa interested in Abraham
Everton and Aston Villa are among the Premier League clubs interested in AS Roma forward Tammy Abraham, according to reports.
The i paper claims Jose Mourinho's side rejected offers in January for Abraham, 25, with the forward valued at £67m by club officials. Former side Chelsea, who sold the England international in the summer of 2021, have a buy-back clause valued at that fee which will become active once the transfer window reopens later this year.
Everton have been bereft of attacking quality so far this season, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggling to put his long-term injury problems behind him and has so far only started one match under new boss Sean Dyche.
The Blues have scored just two goals in the five games since Dyche succeeded Lampard.
Beckford: Dyche will not be happy with Gueye
Assessing Everton's defeat last night while on Sky Sports, Jermaine Beckford singled out Idrissa Gana Gueye for his mistake during Arsenal's second goal.
“This is just poor," said the former Everton striker. “Gueye isn’t playing to the whistle, he’s dwelling on the ball and Saka just takes the ball off him.
“Dyche is going to be fuming with that. It’s so avoidable.”
What Arsenal fans sang to Sean Dyche makes brutal Everton truth clear
Just as Everton were beginning to look like a competent outfit they produced a performance that will give Sean Dyche nightmares.
The new Blues boss would have known his side was capable of imploding. He would have done his homework upon taking the job. He would have seen, or at least analysed, the debris from the complete collapses against Bournemouth and Brighton, or the moments of incompetence or signs of toothlessness that led to damaging defeats to Wolves, West Ham and Southampton.
But, deep down, he may not have believed such outrageous calamity could happen on his watch. And many supporters would have felt the same. Over the course of a month Dyche has improved this fragile side. He has brought organisation, and fight, and resilience, and those qualities have made Everton competitive. Competitive enough to gain morale-boosting wins over Arsenal and Leeds United at Goodison Park and to have shown, in the defeat to Aston Villa, signs that this team is simply a goalscorer away from being a genuinely effective outlet. Before now, the defeat at Anfield was the only blot of his reign and the Blues specialise in finding ways to snatch defeat on the other side of Stanley Park. At the Emirates, though, Dyche was forced to watch his side crumble as the taunts of “Ole” and “you’re going down” sounded out around him.
It had started so well and that makes this 4-0 defeat and the display that accompanied it all the more frustrating - and worrying. Then a piece of wonderful skill and another moment of chaos undermined everything and the travelling Evertonians - forced to endure so much misery over the past two seasons - were once again suffering in an away end. After four weeks in charge the question for Dyche and this season is not whether he can make this Everton team competitive. He has shown he can. The question is whether this side, at its most competitive best, is actually capable of getting the results needed for survival. The more glimpses of progress shown by Dyche’s Blues, the more its limitations are glaringly exposed.
Read the full story, here.
Fulham 'planning' move for Everton target
Marco Silva is said to be planning to rejoin the race to sign Everton target Viktor Gyokeres.
That is according to Football Insider who have reported that Fulham are looking to reignite their interest in the Swedish star.
It has been said that they moved for the 24-year-old in January but saw their efforts rebuffed. Now, they are looking into another avenue to approach with the view for cover and competition for Aleksander Mitrovic.
Everton were fiercely linked with a deadline day move for Gyokeres but Coventry City stood firm and maintained the services of their prized asset.
Mark Robins' side are pushing for the Championship playoffs and the Swede could be integral to their ambitions.
Reports: Everton face competition for Rodrigo Becao
Everton are facing a transfer battle with Serie A clubs over Rodrigo Becao, according to reports in Italy.
Inter Milan and Atalanta are now said to be in the hunt for reinforcements at the back with the Udinese defender.
The Blues have been repeatedly linked with the 27-year-old in recent months. During the January transfer window he became a name frequently mooted with a switch to Goodison Park.
According to Messaggero Veneto, he turned down an extension with Udinese that would've kept him with the Italian side. As a result, he is expected to leave this summer.
Now, should Sean Dyche be interested, he is set for a tussle with the likes of Atalanta and Inter for his signature.
Sean Dyche left dumbfounded
Sean Dyche said he had “no explanation” for the shambolic second goal that ended Everton’s hopes of clinching a positive result at Arsenal.
The Blues boss was pleased with the opening 40 minutes, during which his side prevented the league leaders from creating a clear-cut opportunity while providing a threat to their hosts. But the game unravelled for Everton just minutes before half-time.
First, Bukayo Saka latched onto a sublime through ball from Oleksandr Zinchenko. The fatal blow then came in the aftermath of the opener when Idrissa Gueye dallied on the ball and Saka stole it from him, playing in Gabriel Martinelli to double the Gunners’ lead.
It was a hellish moment for Everton and became a focal point for questions to Dyche after the match. Asked for his thoughts on the goal, he said:
"I have no explanation, other than sometimes players get caught in three minds, not two minds, and it is just one of them odd moments. They don’t occur very often but when they do they always look like that."
"For 40 minutes we were doing very well, I thought, against a top side. You know you have to keep it tight at places like this and you have to work for the counter, which we did.
"It is finding those killer moments - obviously that is the story of the season so far, before and with me. That defined that period and then, obviously, a soft goal from our point of view, only yardages, the back four just got a bit open for the first time. It was good from them, that is what they do, they slide and play quick passes into the box.
"And then the second one, as a manager it is hard to legislate for. Once you are 2-0 down at a place like this it is very difficult, we all know that, and then we had to take the second half on and at the end of the day you saw why they are top of the league.
"It is not always about us - there are lots of things we could have done better but at the end of the day they are a top side and they showed it at the end of the day."
Good morning, Everton fans!
Good morning and welcome to our LIVE Everton transfer blog.
There's plenty of speculation doing the rounds at the moment, and we'll be bringing them all to you right here.
As well as that, we will be bringing you all of the reaction to last night's Premier League clash against Arsenal.
Make sure you stay tuned!
