Everton might need to have difficult conversations to solve transfer dilemma

Royal Blue: Carlo Ancelotti on Everton’s transfer plans for January including Jarrad Branthwaite

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No player has asked to leave, says Carlo Ancelotti.

And can you really blame them?

Who wouldn’t want to be part of this Everton squad?

Who wouldn’t want to play under, and learn from, this manager?

Who wouldn’t want to be involved in one of the most unpredictable and exciting Premier League seasons in a long time?

Even if you’re only on the fringes of the squad, why would you want to leave a club in the mix for the top four?

Everyone knows full well how the (increasing) demands of such a congested and unusual season means the need for strength in depth is greater than ever and that chances are likely to come more than they would.

All players back themselves, and their ability, and fully believe they are good enough to be in the team, even if they are not. Why wouldn’t they just wait for their opportunity? It’ll come, right?

But, of course, when you’re trying to trim a squad, as Everton are, this is all a problem.

No player has, as of yet, requested to leave the club this month and so, as Marcel Brands once said, there might have to be some not very nice conversations.

Whether they do the trick, though, is uncertain.

Because many of these type of conversations have been going on for the past two-and-a-half seasons and the Blues are still trying to offload unwanted players.

The task, seemingly, gets no easier this month.

Yannick Bolasie and Mo Besic know they don’t have a future at the club and were not included in the Blues’ 25-man Premier League squads, but whether they leave or not before the end of the month, is another matter.

They’d prefer not to leave either – Bolasie, especially, has made that clear – but Everton would.

They can see what is happening under Ancelotti too. They’ve experienced, albeit only briefly, what it’s like to train with him and they can see and feel the culture he has created. If they stick around, could their fortunes change? Highly unlikely, but little is sticking to the script at the moment.

What Ancelotti is doing is a blessing but, in his instance, also a kind of curse: players are reluctant to leave.

He is the great man-manager of his generation and it is why, and how, he has managed to keep this squad of players so motivated this season.

It’s no great secret that, when everyone is fit, Everton’s starting XI largely picks itself and that those pushing them hardest are known yet Ancelotti has still managed to call upon the others, when required, recently and watched as they have made an impact.

The win over Sheffield United was a prime example of that. He inspires that level of commitment. Players want to play for him. They don’t want to leave.

Add into the significant factor of moving clubs in a Covid-impacted football economy, and potentially having to take a major cut on a juicy Everton salary, and there is another reason why players could be reluctant to leave right now.

It’s understandable. Careers are short. Some players will now be looking at their next move and the last ‘big’ one of their careers. If they have a contract, and still have that desire to play for the club, then why should they leave?

Cenk Tosun, for example, is 29. He is in the prime of his playing days. He is contracted to Everton until the summer of 2022.

Tosun’s finishing ability is not in question but his all round play is not up to scratch. But he wants to play for Everton. He believes he can play his part and is backing himself. He knows the club are prepared to let him go if the right offer materialises, but will it be the right offer for him? He has every right to stay and try and prove people wrong.

He gets his chance from the start today, leading the line against Rotherham in the third round of the FA Cup, but is it going to improve his long-term prospects?

We can all say not, and recent history backs us up, but Tosun will see this as the opportunity he’s been waiting for. In an interview with media in his homeland this week, he said he would make a decision about moving this month in two or three weeks. It wasn’t the answer of a player who is desperately trying to get out of Goodison. Far from it, in fact.

Whether the scheduled Euros focus his thinking, the closer we get to deadline day, remains to be seen but at this stage it seems unlikely.

Ancelotti has spoken encouragingly to – and about – Tosun. The manager is doing what he should be, managing his squad and resources, keeping the striker on his toes and focused for when he needs him. He needs him today and Tosun hopes he will need him again with over half of the league season to go.

And then, if Everton qualify for Europe next season, Ancelotti could turn to him even more. Moise Kean seems increasingly likely to push for permanent move to PSG. So why would Tosun leave?

And why would Bernard leave?

Sure Everton would be able to trim their wage bill significantly by moving both of those players on, as well as Bolasie and Besic, but why would any of them quit Goodison before they have to?

“If the player desires to stay here we are not going to force him to leave,” was part of Ancelotti’s reply to a question about Bernard’s future, on Friday afternoon.

Privately, Ancelotti may be open to the idea of selling of Bernard but he knows he may need to call upon him at any point, so he’s too experienced to be saying anything different in public.

What transfer business do Everton need to get done this month? Let us know in the comments below.

For Brands, it has never just been a case of finding a buyer or a loan club (although that has not always been easy in some cases) it’s also about convincing the players to go.

Everton managed to get the final nine months or so of Theo Walcott’s salary off the bill by finding a Premier League club that a) could afford him and b) offered him the game time he wasn’t getting at Goodison.

But such examples seem harder and harder to come by.

It remains a minor miracle that Brands managed to negotiate the permanent transfer of Sandro Ramirez in October although the suspicion is that it required the Blues paying up some of what was left on his contract but, on the other side, players such as Oumar Niasse and Cuco Martina saw out their contracts, when their prospects at Everton had long been sealed.

If signing the right players was tough then getting rid of the wrong players is even harder. Especially in the current climate. And especially in Everton’s current position.

Who wouldn’t want to be part of this squad for the rest of the season?

Everton are focused on trimming their squad this month but how successful they are in his task, remains to be seen.