Everton’s new owners, the Friedkin Group, want to make two priority signings for head coach Sean Dyche in January, according to a new report.
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Everton’s four-game undefeated run in the Premier League came to an end last week as they were beaten 2-0 by high-flying Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park.
Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White were on the scoresheet for Forest on the day, with defeat seeing the Toffees slip to 16th in the table, one place below Crystal Palace, who beat Southampton on the same day.
Perhaps more worrying than the defeat itself, however, was Everton’s failure to find the net once again. Dyche’s side have now failed to score in 10 of their 18 Premier League games this season, and have managed to score just 15 goals in total. Only bottom club Southampton have scored less.
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Speaking after the game, Dyche urged his current crop of forwards, which includes Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Armando Broja, to be more like Wood.
“Chris Wood, who I have worked with before, was excellent. He didn’t get many touches of the ball but his work ethic, his belief, his consistency, his physicality – and then he gets his reward with a goal,” said Dyche. “That can often be the difference. I’ve spoken to our centre-forwards about it because I want them to learn and continue to learn about what it is.”
Everton January transfer plans
Unsurprisingly, getting a new forward is a priority for Everton in January. According to Sky Sports, Everton’s new owners, the Friedkin Group, want to make some signings this month to boost the club’s survival campaign, and a new forward and midfielder are the priority positions.
Sky claim that the Toffees are also looking at signing a new left-back, but that “two incomings is the most likely outcome at this stage”. Among those being linked with a move to Merseyside are Borussia Monchengladbach striker Tim Kleindienst, Galatasaray winger Hakim Ziyech and Lyon and Georgia forward Georges Mikautadze.
Mikautadze finished as the joint top scorer at Euro 2024, scoring three goals as Georgia enjoyed an impressive run to the last-16 in what was their first-ever appearance at the tournament as an independent nation. Meanwhile, for Lyon, he’s scored seven goals in 21 appearances across all competitions this term.
According to Foot Mercato, Mikautadze’s form has attracted attention from a number of European clubs, including Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen, and Everton – the latter two of whom have seemingly made contact and an opening move by taking “the player’s temperature”.
Mikautadze has previously been described as “a phenomenon” by his former manager Emilio Ferrera. Speaking to Sporza, per Goal, Ferrera said of him: “He can score in all possible ways: in a moment, after a dribble, with a long shot, with the left, with the right… just not with his head.”