Everton face Carlos Alcaraz transfer dilemma as games on and off the pitch could shape future

Everton can turn Carlos Alcaraz's loan move from Flamengo into a permanent transfer if certain goals are met

Everton’s only signing of the winter window, Carlos Alcaraz is already proving a popular figure but will the Blues be taking the plunge to activate their clause to sign the midfielder on a permanent deal? The Blues required a deal sheet to push through the Argentinian’s move after the deadline passed at 11pm on Monday, February 3, even though Alcaraz’s official photographs signing at Finch Farm were dated Saturday, February 1.

The social media outlets at the player’s parent club Flamengo in Brazil “confirmed” his departure at 4:35pm on Friday, January 31, stating that the deal is structured as a loan with an obligation to buy if certain goals are met. Those ‘goals’ are understood to be Alcaraz either starting six matches, or playing 45 minutes in six games.

So far, the 22-year-old has done that just twice – both in London – laying on an assist for Beto and then striking the match-winning goal himself in a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace, and then also producing another strong showing in the 1-1 draw at Brentford, again picking out the Guinea-Bissau international striker for an inviting opportunity, although he was unable to convert. It’s been telling that each of those opportunities came when Abdoulaye Doucoure was unavailable.

The 32-year-old was suspended for the trip to Selhurst Park through suspension after being shown a second yellow card after the final whistle in the Merseyside Derby while he missed the visit to the Gtech Community Stadium as his wife was about to give birth to their son. In both subsequent fixture, the 2-2 home draw with Manchester United, and the 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out, Doucoure was handed an instant recall by David Moyes.

The pair are hardly ‘like for like’ alternatives in terms of their respective skill-sets but so far, the Scot has been reluctant to have them both on the pitch at the same time and instead has deployed them as rather different options in similar areas as Everton’s most-advanced central midfield while Idrissa Gueye and James Garner toil away in the engine room, occupying deep roles behind them. Alcaraz could alternatively also be used as a creative wide midfielder, in the manner that Moyes would often utilise the likes of Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar or Leon Osman during his first Goodison Park spell.

Those three were more like playmakers on the flanks than orthodox wingers and reprising such a tactic could offer a progressive option for the Blues boss. However, after the 61-year-old was asked about the absence of goals and assists from Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom in his pre-match press conference before heading to Molineux and he warned the pair: “you won’t have longevity if you’re not going to get me assists and you’re not going to get me goals,” they responded by the on-loan Napoli man teeing up the on-loan Leeds United player for Everton’s only goal of the game.

The most important factor in all this surrounds what Moyes’ genuine thoughts are for putting Alcaraz in the Blues’ starting line-up. Does the gaffer believe that the South American genuinely deserves a place in his team?

But financial aspects and summer transfer strategies could also come into play. Alcaraz is Everton’s player if they want him as all they need to do is give him the agreed time on the pitch and the permanent transfer will kick in.

Professional as always, Moyes has vowed not to step foot inside the club’s new stadium until their Premier League status for next season has been confirmed. Yet from a practical point of view, with the Blues having extended the gap between themselves and the bottom three from one point on the manager’s return to the current 16-point cushion – placing them as close to Champions League qualification as the relegation zone – it could be beneficial to start stepping up the integration of Alcaraz into the side ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, if he is indeed in their future plans.

However, perhaps Goodison Park chiefs think that after striking a deal to get the La Plata-born star out of Rio de Janeiro mid-season, Flamengo might be under pressure to offload the record signing and there could be scope to get him for less than the quoted fee of £15million? If they go down that avenue, then they also run the risk of other potential suitors coming in for a player who already has European experience here in England with Southampton and in Italy with Juventus.

Following Saturday’s home game against West Ham United, Moyes’ previous employers, Everton have got a two-and-a-half week gap before they’re next in action in the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool at Anfield – the last time that either the Blues or Reds will ‘cross Stanley Park’ for the fixture – and it’s to be hoped that the extended fallow period could buy some time for some of the club’s currently injured stars to return.

However, for now, with Everton’s options limited, Alcaraz looks like he’s the only potential game-changer up the manager’s sleeve when it comes to mixing things up off the bench and with Doucoure’s much greater experience in the Premier League, you wonder whether that is actually counting against the new man?