Everton defender Ashley Williams is set to depart Goodison Park this summer, according to the Daily Mirror, and letting the former Swansea captain leave now is a good call.
Williams, valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, has failed to replicate the solid defensive performances he so often displayed at Swansea and, at the age of 33, there’s no better time than now to move the centre-back on.
Central defence is one of the places new boss Marco Silva is likely to address with none of Everton’s current crop particularly impressing this season. Michael Keane has struggled after making his big money move from Burnley, Funes Mori’s recklessness can make him a liability and captain Phil Jagielka is declining rapidly as he approaches 36.
Nevertheless, the mentioned defenders have much more to offer than what Williams does and while many would expect Silva to perhaps bring in more than one new centre-half to the club making Keane, Mori and Jagielka’s position within the squad in limbo, Williams is rightly the most vulnerable to any new arrivals.
Aside from defence, Silva could also look to reconstruct Everton’s attack. Despite boasting some of the best attacking talent outside the Premier League’s top six, the Toffees went through large periods where they weren’t creating and scoring enough.
Much of that is arguably down to former manager Sam Allardyce and his extremely conservative style of football. Silva, though, may still want to bring in fresh faces for the attacking positions.
Strengthening central defence and shipping off deadwood like Williams, however, must remain the priority.
