According to i news, the Toffees are working on several transactions, and while the priority is to recruit an attacking flanker, a deal for Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is reported to be in the works as an ambitious signing for director of football Kevin Thelwell.
Everton are struggling to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) after completing the £30 million purchase of centre-forward Beto earlier this week, but they might now lunge for Phillips, who is eager for regular first-team play and the Citizens are willing to let him depart on loan.
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The Merseyside club has not yet touched the midfield this summer, preferring to focus on reassembling the offense, but seems enticed by the prospect of a £150,000-per-week enforcer catalyzing the center.
How talented is Kalvin Phillips?
Arnaut Danjuma and Jack Harrison have joined on loan, and Beto’s arrival has been supplemented by a £15 million move for teenage striker Youssef Chermiti, but the club would be prudent to bolster the midfield today if feasible.
The implication is that Everton are aiming for a fast-paced finale to the transfer window, and while the emphasis is on adding a winger, Phillips’ availability may be too appealing to pass up.
The Goodison Park club have lost their first three Premier League matches of the season, failing to score in all three, and Phillips might be acquired as a new engine to send shockwaves of good impact throughout the team.
Prior to his £45 million move to Manchester City, where injuries and the squad’s superior skill limited him to only two Premier League starts all season, he thrived for Leeds United, spearheading an ascension from the Championship to a ninth-place finish in the top flight.
During that 2020/21 season, the 27-cap international averaged 7.21 points per game, completing 85% of his passes, averaging 1.2 critical passes and 2.6 tackles per game, with former Whites boss Neil Redfearn describing him as a “expert deep-lying midfielder.”
Given his outstanding range of midfield qualities, Everton may create their own version of Declan Rice by clinching a spectacular deal for the 27-year-old “monster” – as formerly extolled by Yannick Bolasie – with Redfearn previously remarking that Arsenal’s £105 million player is “no better” than his Sky Blue counterpart.
Rice is without a doubt one of Europe’s best midfielders, described as “world-class” by manager Danny Cowley, and has been instrumental for West Ham United over the past several years, making 245 appearances for David Moyes’ outfit in a rise that paralleled the club’s, winning the Europa Conference League on his final appearance.
He also is in the top 5% of positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues for interceptions per 90 over the last year.
While Rice is one of the game’s top midfielders, Phillips has shown at the highest level in England his ability to play as an all-around midfield force, so Thelwell could transform Everton’s season by signing the former Leeds sensation in a statement of intent by tonight’s 11 p.m. deadline.
