Everton supporters in the Transfer Tavern are relishing the new era at Goodison Park following the appointment of Marco Silva as the new Toffees manager last month.
The 40-year-old had been out of work since losing his job at Watford back in January, with the Hornets clearly unhappy with Everton for their approaches for the Portuguese following their decision to sack Ronald Koeman. Nonetheless, the Merseysiders now have their man after parting with Sam Allardyce at the end of last season, this all despite the Englishman leading the Toffees to an eighth place finish in the Premier League.
Regardless, there are many optimistic and expectant Evertonians in the Tavern at present, several of whom are likely to be interested by recent reports suggesting that target Jack Wilshere could well be on his way out of Arsenal this summer.
And were the Toffees to indeed seal a deal for the £18 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) this summer, it would be a huge statement of European intent from the club ahead of the 2018/19 season.
Ultimately, last time round was somewhat of a disaster at Goodison Park given the amount of money the club spent in the summer window 12 months ago, with the Toffees never threatening the top six sides over the course of the campaign.
But with the financial power clearly there having spent well over £100 million last summer, and with a new stadium to come in the not-too-distant future, owner Farhad Moshiri will no doubt have lofty ambitions for the club to return to European competition in the next few years.
And making signings like Wilshere will no doubt help with that quest, as although there are some concerns with his injury record, there is no doubting his quality when he is fit and firing.
The 26-year-old, who missed out on England selection for this summer’s World Cup, actually appeared more times last season for the Gunners than he had done in any of his preceding five seasons at the Emirates Stadium, with the midfielder slowly but surely coming to greater prominence as the season wore on.
And while those injury doubts will linger pretty much for the remainder of his career, Wilshere appears to have turned a corner last season with 38 appearances and 29 starts for the North London giants, and as such must be of interest to new Everton boss Silva as he seeks to shape a squad ready to challenge for the European spots – Wilshere would be a great addition.
With the ball at his feet, there aren’t many better in the Premier League in terms of composure and picking a pass, with his vision and awareness second-to-none and likely to get the best out of the likes of Yannick Bolasie and Theo Walcott down the flanks.
Ultimately, Wilshere would be able to orchestrate things from the middle of the park in an area that Everton somewhat struggled with last season, while the likely hefty wage packet would further underline their intent ahead of the 2018/19 campaign.
And were they to beat the likes of Crystal Palace, West Ham, and Wolves to the 26-year-old’s signature, it would represent a huge statement of intent that Everton will be challenging the top six for the European places this term.
Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!
