Jul 9. – Everton have certainly been active on the incomings front during this transfer window. I’m only going to analyze the signings officially made thus far. Idrissa Gana Gueye is almost guaranteed to rejoin Everton this summer, but I’ll wait until it’s official to really dive in deep on him. Everton have made five first team signings as of today, with the rumored combined total rising to around 60 million pounds. Because of the club’s financial situation, the initial fees will be much lower than that. I’m going to start with the first signing of the summer, James Tarkowski.

James Tarkowski – Centerback

Everton signed James Tarkowski on a free transfer from Burnley on July 1st to shore up a backline thought to contain Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey. As we now know, Tarky is the only one of those three players fit at the moment. I know there was a vocal contingent of fans unhappy with the signing as they thought the club should’ve gone for a younger player. I understand that thought process, but I think it’s clear from last season that a leader was needed in that backline. Mina can’t stay healthy, Keane is a shell of himself, Godfrey is young and inconsistent, and Holgate is uh, frustrating. Tarkowski is definitely a leader. A 29 year old veteran of the Premier League, Tarkowski is an instant starter at centerback. He is at the very least a solid presence in the dressing room and on the pitch. Just having someone that can stay healthy is a huge improvement. Anything more than that is a win at this point. Through pre-season, Tarkowski has shown his ability to play in a more possession based team and also seems to be an accomplished passer of the ball. In a few years it could be a waste of money, but he’s needed right now. I’m a fan of this signing.

Dwight McNeil – Winger

Everton really went and signed two of Burnley’s first XI huh? Dwight McNeil is a young winger who like Tarkowski, has a few years of Premier League experience. McNeil was primarily a left winger for most of his time with Burnley. That’s mainly due to their style of play where they move the ball up the pitch quickly and then ping crosses onto Chris Wood’s dome. McNeil has a fantastic left foot and really is a solid crosser of the ball. A lot of people were bringing up the fact that he only had 1 assist last year, but Burnley just didn’t score much at all. He didn’t score any goals either, but all of his metrics show that his season was a typical McNeil season. His expected assists were around 5, which tracks for him as a player. The lack of goals is concerning, especially for a team like Everton that will struggle to score goals. He does have the ability to cut onto his left foot and score a banger, which he actually did in the friendly against Dynamo Kiev. He scored a brace in that match, with the second goal coming off a cross from new signing Ruben Vinagre. McNeil is likely to play on the right wing for Everton this season, and I think that’s his best position for this team. He can put inside with the ball, which allows Nathan Patterson or Seamus Coleman to overlap, although Coleman is probably better in the half-space. Is 20 million pounds a lot of money? Sure, but in today’s Premier League that’s pretty much the cost of a squad player. McNeil is still only 22 years old and will hopefully have a long career for the Toffees. I’ve always rated McNeil, so I’m honestly a pretty big fan of this signing.

Ruben Vinagre – Leftback (Loan)

I’ll be honest here, don’t know a whole lot about Vinagre. The club signed him on loan from Sporting in Portugal, which is a bit odd because they had just signed him from Wolves. He seems to be more capable than Niels Nkounkou at this point, so I guess it’s an upgrade on depth. He looked decent against Chelsea when he came on to play wingback in the second half, so no real complaints there. Fine addition in my opinion.

Conor Coady – Centerback (Loan)

This is a weird one. Conor Coady was the captain of Wolves and a longtime stalwart in the backline. Bruno Lage’s decision to switch to a back four left him on the outskirts of the first team, so they loaned him out. The deal includes an option to buy, which I personally think is unlikely to be triggered. I think this is a great signing for Everton, mainly due to the injuries of Mina and Godfrey, but as I mentioned with Tarkowski, Coady is a great leader. The team could always use more leaders after the debacle that was last season. Coady will almost certainly replace Mina in the middle of a back three, flanked by Tarkowski and Holgate/Coleman. Time to mention the elephant in the room, Conor Coady is a massive Liverpool supporter. Unlike Rafa Benitez, Coady seems to be genuinely thrilled to join Everton, which has seemingly endeared him to the fanbase. I don’t really care about his Liverpool links as long as he plays well for us and gives his all on the pitch, which I have no doubts about. I’m thrilled about signing a player of his quality with the current injury crisis, and I think this could be massive for the squad.

Amadou Onana – Midfielder

I’m still shocked this happened. Why he chose Everton at all, I have no idea. I guess the idea of playing for Frank Lampard is appealing, but this team finished 16th a year ago. Honestly, I think this signing, along with the potential signing of Gueye, leaves Lampard with tons of good choices in midfield. Imagine hearing that back in June. Any combination of Allan, Doucoure, Iwobi, Onana, and Gana is a Premier League caliber duo. My guess is that Onana is eased into the team while more experienced players start for a bit, but the 6 foot 5 midfielder is going to be massive in the future. He can play anywhere in the midfield, he’s a good passer, and also a freak athlete. It’s a very un-Everton signing in the best way possible. I’m super excited to see what he can do. I’ll never understand why he signed here, but man am I happy about it.