Everton transfer gamble could bite before Mohamed Salah test and anxious Liverpool wait
Everton decided in January that full-back was an area that could wait until the summer to be addressed. New injuries could put that call under pressure ahead of the Merseyside derby
Everton’s full-back gamble is set to be tested once again in the Merseyside derby.
The Blues are sweating on the availability of Vitalii Mykolenko after the left back was withdrawn from the squad that faced Bournemouth after flagging a calf concern on Saturday morning.
Whether the left back will be fit to return for Wednesday night is one of the defining issues of the Blues’ preparations for the game. It has added importance given David Moyes does not expect to have either of his specialist right backs available, placing a heavy responsibility on 39-year-old Ashley Young.
Everton have now assessed the full-back situation under two different managers this season, reaching the same conclusion on both occasions. The Blues were busy in the summer transfer window but, still having to be savvy over how deals were constructed, had to make tough decisions on where to strengthen and how.
Regulatory concerns led to the sale of Ben Godfrey – who played much of the second half of last season at right back – as part of efforts to avoid another breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR).
The same issue was a drag on spending and, as director of football Kevin Thelwell assessed where to commit what money was available on loan deals and buy-now, pay-later moves, the decision was taken to focus on the area of greatest need. Everton’s defence was a cornerstone of the form that would have seen the club finish mid-table last season without being hit by two points deductions. Goals were the big problem.
Unable to strengthen in every area, the belief was Everton could afford to enter the season with the players they had. Without Godfrey, that meant banking on the availability of club captain Seamus Coleman, Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko, with Ashley Young acting as cover on both sides and central midfielder James Garner seen as a viable back-up on the right – where he had played as England Under-21s won the Euros the previous summer.
The gamble immediately came under pressure. Coleman had started pre-season looking strong but Patterson was set to be unavailable for the opening weeks as he completed his recovery from the hamstring injury suffered at Chelsea in April. Mykolenko started the campaign after an injury-laden summer in which his problems had begun when he was withdrawn midway through the derby win at Goodison.
When Young was brought in to cover for an injured Coleman he was shown a red card in the opening day defeat to
Brighton and Hove Albion – a game Garner also missed through. One week later, Dyche turned to teenager Roman Dixon, lifting him from the academy for a senior debut away at Tottenham Hotspur.
Eventually, the problems eased but Coleman and Patterson’s injury issues continued and it took Young’s redemption at right back to help Everton through the autumn and winter months, when results proved tough to come by but the defensive record improved as attacking intent was sacrificed.
