Everton could reportedly make a surprise, audacious move to take Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City, with Sean Dyche keen to bring the midfielder to Goodison Park.
According to iNews, Manchester City’s fringe midfielder Kalvin Phillips is an “ambitious target” for Everton for a deadline-day loan move, with Sean Dyche keen on bringing a new midfielder.
The report adds that the forgotten Manchester City man “could be allowed to leave” the Etihad to gain more first-team action now that the treble winners are close to signing midfield maestro Matheus Nunes from Wolves, and “well-connected” Toffees director of football Kevin Thelwell could try to iron out a favourable loan deal.
Everton are in murky waters at present, having narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League last season and kicking off the current campaign with three successive defeats, yet to score their first goal.
The Toffees have signed a total of five new players so far this summer, with Youssef Chermiti and Beto signing permanent deals, while loanees Jack Harrison and Arnaut Danjuma have also joined free agent Ashley Young. While it would have been far better to complete their business early to avoid the disastrous start to the new Premier League season, their precarious financial position didn’t allow for that.
As a result, they are gearing up for a frenetic finish to the summer transfer window, with movement likely occurring both in and out of Goodison Park, with Alex Iwobi edging closer to a £20 million exit to Fulham.
Although the Toffees are reluctant to lose a key player who can play multiple positions across the frontline and in midfield, Iwobi is not keen on penning a contract extension with the club. He only has a year remaining on his current contract, and the club cannot afford to lose him for free.
Such a sale could mean that funds are freed up to complete multiple moves before the 11 p.m. deadline, which leads us perfectly to them targeting a move for Kalvin Phillips.
The 27-year-old has struggled to impress at City since his big-money move from Leeds United last summer, with his fitness even being questioned by Pep Guardiola once. Phillips did not start a Premier League game for City in the entirety of last season and has not played a single minute of first-team football so far this season, but was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad yesterday.
Merseyside rivals Liverpool were reported to have made enquiries for the 27-year-old. But the Reds’ are now prioritising a permanent move for Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch instead, which leaves the door open for the Toffees to pursue a season-long loan for Phillips.
City would be willing to sanction a loan move so that he can receive more regular game time moving forward rather than being on the fringe of the action. If Everton can pull this one off and bring the treble winner to Goodison Park, it would be an impressive late move and a major boost to their hopes of staying up this season.
