Premier League Everton need reinforcements if they are to reach the next level – how about Aston Villa’s John McGinn and Torino’s Andrea Belotti?
As Farhad Moshiri has discovered to the cost of his personal fortune, £500 million is not guaranteed to get you anywhere these days.
In the four years since becoming the majority shareholder at Everton Football Club, the Iranian businessman has invested huge sums on new players, from Yannick Bolasie to Cenk Tosun, Sandro Ramirez to Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane to Yerry Mina.
With the Toffees failing to crack the top six in each of the last three seasons, it is fair to say Moshiri hasn’t seen much return on his investment.
That doesn’t mean, however, that there is not value to be found even in today’s madcap market.
If reports are to be believed, Everton have identified John McGinn and Andrea Belotti as two of their top summer targets (TEAMtalk and Tuttomercatoweb), although the Scot and the Italian are both expected to set the Merseysiders back over £50 million apiece.
Unlike during previous transfer windows, however, this would not only represent money well spent but a more considered and intelligent transfer strategy.
McGinn, after all, has proven himself to be a potentially elite-level Premier League midfielder, even in a struggling Aston Villa side.
This ankle-biting little terrier combines the passing range and technique of an Andre Gomes or a Gylfi Sigurdsson with the energy of a Fabian Delph, making him precisely the kind of all-action enforcer Ancelotti is crying out for.
Belotti, in stark contrast, has spent his entire career in his Italian homeland. But this is an old-fashioned, powerhouse number nine who thrives with his back to goal, displaying tremendous work-rate with clinical finishing skills.
He has averaged 17 goals a season in each of his five years with Torino and, at £53 million, he might just be the Romelu Lukaku replacement that Everton have been scouring the market for.
Easing the burden on the excellent yet still young Dominic Calvert-Lewin wouldn’t go amiss either.
Moshiri has certainly speculated. Accumulated? Less so. But things may be about to change at last.
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