Could Dean Saunders’ tip for Everton manager make Jonny Evans dream a reality?

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Dean Saunders says Everton would consider Tony Pulis – who just happens to manage £35m target, West Brom’s Jonny Evans

Tony Pulis has won just three of his last 27 games in charge of West Brom. And, despite keeping The Baggies safely away from the drop zone in recent years, the tide is turning on the pragmatic Welshman whose football ranks among some of the most uninspired in the division.

Just imagine for a moment, then, that Everton, a side with Champions League ambitions who spent £140 million in the summer, were to appoint Pulis at Goodison Park.

Dean Saunders, however, believes that The Toffees would jump at the chance with their season in danger of descending into a shock relegation battle.

“If Pulis was available now, both Everton and West Ham would take him – because of their desperation to stay in the Premier League,” Saunders told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT, broadcast on November 7th.

Needless to say, Pulis would be about as unimaginative an appointment as you could find in the modern game. Though there may just be one upside to Pulis rocking the baseball cap on the Goodison Park touchline – he’d make Everton’s hopes of signing Jonny Evans a lot more realistic.

The Sun reports that The Toffees have joined Manchester City in the race for West Brom centre-back Jonny Evans – who would cost a huge £35 million.

Everton have the second worst defensive record in the Premier League, conceding 22 times in 11 games so far, with Keane struggling for form, Ramiro Funes Mori injured and Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams clearly past their best.

The addition of Evans, who appears to be entering his peak at the age of 29, would therefore add some much needed stability and reliability to Everton’s backline – even if his price-tag is bordering on the obscene.

Evans has arguably improved since swapping Manchester United for The Hawthorns in 2015. His relationship and understanding with Pulis has made the Northern Irish stopper a far more consistent player than he ever was at Old Trafford.

Therefore, while Everton supporters would hardly welcome Pulis with open arms, the pragmatic gaffer is perhaps the man The Toffees need to sign a player who would really enhance their squad.