Somehow, it ended up being an encouraging season for Everton, who ended the campaign in eighth place.
While there were calls amongst sections of support online back in February for Marco Silva to be sacked after a loss to former club Watford and suggestions before that in the Telegraph that he was under pressure at Goodison Park, a late surge which saw the club pick up wins against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal did see the Toffees finish eighth.
Clearly, there must be an ambition to finish higher than that but there does appear to be something to work with. Still, the next phase of the Silva project will – as things stand – have to make do without the services of one Kurt Zouma, who remains a Chelsea player.
So, despite Silva’s reported belief (via the Telegraph) that the Frenchman can once again play for Everton, they must now begin the search for a replacement, at least as a contingency.
So to that end, The Sun have reported that Everton are to join Aston Villa and manager-less Newcastle in the race for Bristol City star, Adam Webster. Granted, the Championship man doesn’t have the same of pedigree as Zouma, but it would be a promising move.
Indeed, the Englishman featured in 44 Championship games last season, scoring three goals. Standing at a little over 6ft 2in, the centre-back is particularly strong in the air, WhoScored identifying aerial duels as a key strength alongside interceptions and concentration. In fact, they rated him as the best defender in the league in what was undeniably a great season.
Webster was integral in achieving eighth-placed finish for Bristol City last time out. While they were lacking up top, their defence showed entirely the opposite and they conceded just 53 goals, less than eventual winners Norwich and promoted Aston Villa.
With Zouma’s future uncertain and Phil Jagielka having been released, perhaps the former Ipswich Town ace would be worth the apparent £12m mooted in the report.
Everton fans, what would you think of this potential signing? Does it show a lack of ambition? Or do not enough Premier League clubs look to the talent within the Championship? Let us know!
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