Everton have spent rather freely this summer, likely well aware that a huge sale was to come.
And come it did, with Amadou Onana’s mouth-watering £50m move to Aston Villa providing more than enough financial impetus to allow Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell to wade into the market.
With three permanent additions and a further two loan signings made, many would be forgiven for assuming that their summer business was tied up, but with Everton reportedly interested in two new midfielders, it seems funds are still there to be spent.
So, with this latest update from a well-respected journalist, perhaps they might be better served abandoning that pursuit and instead spending big to sign just one star man to solve their outstanding problem.
When combing through the big issues that need fixing at Everton, it’s undeniable that their goal threat is still lacking.
Whilst Iliman Ndiaye will provide some much-needed creativity from just behind the striker, and Jesper Lindstrom promises energy and delivery for the other attackers too, it is the finishing that remains a big problem, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto both suffering from their fair share of profligacy.
However, one man who did not struggle for goals during his spell on Merseyside was Richarlison, and despite leaving two years ago for a £60m fee, reports are emerging suggesting that his future now hangs in the balance,
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Having failed to stand out during his tenure at Tottenham Hotspur, links even emerged suggesting he might move to Saudi Arabia and join that revolution.
But, journalist Paul O’Keefe has now emerged to refute that notion, simply writing: ‘He doesn’t want to go’.
So, with the Brazil international now ruling out an entire nation, perhaps Everton could swoop in and offer all they possibly can to return him to Goodison Park.
Everton should break the bank to re-sign Richarlison
Although the £90k-a-week forward left for greener pastures, Spurs are now a far cry from the Champions League outfit that he first joined.
Instead, now under Ange Postecoglou’s management rather than Antonio Conte’s they are a project which needs time.
But so too is Everton, and whilst the gulf in quality between the two sides is vast, Richarlison might actually be the missing piece of the puzzle for Dyche rather than just another squad player for Spurs.
During his final year with the Toffees, he scored ten goals and assisted a further five, effectively saving the club from relegation.
His efforts even led Carlo Ancelotti to suggest that, in the future, he could fight for Ballon d’Or’s, such was his quality, with Richarlison admitting he loved Everton another reason why his return is plausible.
Whilst that ambition is now looking somewhat unlikely, there is no doubt that he would thrive within Dyche’s hard-working system.
An energetic presser with good link-up play, who is remarkable in the air and already boasts a fine relationship with Calvert-Lewin, if Thelwell can convince him to return this would prove the coup of the century for Everton. Give him what he wants and build a sustainable and progressive football club around him.