For Everton supporters, the latest twist involving Folarin Balogun will not bring to mind the World Cup row and the overturned suspension linked to the unlikely alliance of Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino. Instead, it has become another source of frustration in a deeply unhappy week for the club.
The United States international’s last-minute decision to remain at Monaco added to the growing sense of discontent, left David Moyes short of recognised strikers and, quite possibly, short of goals as well. By the close of deadline day, Everton looked weaker than they had at the start of it.
Balogun chose to stay at Monaco after a medical uncovered a significant issue, prompting Everton to renegotiate the £40m agreement with the Ligue 1 side so that the initial payment would be lower, with more money tied into add-ons. The episode should stand as a warning to clubs not to leave major business until the chaos of deadline day, when a late change of mind leaves no time to bring in an alternative. Everton may not have been at fault for Balogun being late for his flight or for Monaco’s delay in supplying information, but they were the ones left dealing with the fallout from a mess.
The Balogun affair turned into a complete shambles for Everton.
Everton’s deadline day ultimately represented a major failure in the striker department. Their attempt to secure Joshua Zirkzee on loan with a £10m package was rejected, and that looked both desperate and ineffective. Pursuing a forward with a well-known tendency not to score regularly, and one who hardly seems an obvious fit for a Moyes side, reflected badly in more ways than one.
The pairing of Thierno Barry and Beto was heavily ridiculed last season, with the two effectively sharing the role and regularly being substituted for one another whenever Moyes lost patience with the starter. Now Everton may look back on that period with envy. With Beto sold to Fiorentina, they are down to only Barry, and Moyes even sounded less than fully convinced by him after the striker scored a hat-trick at Preston last Wednesday.
Balogun, who scored 19 goals last season, looked as though he would offer an upgrade. The same was true of Richarlison when Everton were in discussions with Tottenham about bringing the Brazilian back. Now, if Barry suffers an injury, Moyes may once again have to improvise, just as he did during stages of his first spell in charge when he managed without a specialist striker.
David Moyes has been left with limited options by the board.
The departure of Iliman Ndiaye could further weaken Everton’s attacking threat. The Senegal international was their most inventive and most elegant player. His transfer to Manchester City makes Everton resemble a selling club and, after spending more than £100m last summer, their budget was clearly tighter this time. Yet it is also worth noting that by receiving an initial £60m, Everton made four times their money on Ndiaye in the space of two years. Their negotiating position had also been undermined after he turned down several offers of a new contract.
If Jack Grealish’s return on loan from City has not calmed angry supporters, that was hardly surprising. The move had been signposted almost from the moment he first arrived, and there is little novelty about his second spell. There is also the question of whether Grealish’s fitness record makes him an imperfect replacement for Ndiaye.
An increasingly rebellious fanbase had threatened a riot if Harrison Armstrong had been sold to Nottingham Forest. That forced a change of direction from the club, perhaps because it recognised that losing the best homegrown prospect and the most entertaining player in the same week would have triggered a major backlash.
Even so, the fact that Armstrong’s departure was ever a possibility highlighted the disconnect between supporters and the ownership. The Friedkin Group’s lack of understanding of Everton means they now face a struggle to rebuild trust.
The Harrison Armstrong episode underlined the breakdown in trust between Everton supporters and the owners.
The expectation had been that the move to Hill Dickinson Stadium, together with the end of Farhad Moshiri’s ownership and the disappearance of the threat posed by 777 Partners, the danger Everton managed to avoid, would bring an end to the club’s years of austerity. Right now, it does not feel that way at all.
It is difficult to shake the charge that The Friedkin Group lack ambition, even if the inflated nature of Premier League prices may have discouraged them from spending more heavily.
Everton may still have found value in their summer recruitment, but this is hardly the time to argue that Merlin Rohl, Tyrique George, Hayden Hackney and Christian Norgaard arrived for sensible fees, or that the club may have ended up with the better side of the swap arrangement with Crystal Palace involving Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil.
Nor is this the moment to stress that deadline-day signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles, bought for only £4.2m, could prove to be a sensible and economical answer to the long-running search for Seamus Coleman’s successor. The former Arsenal player’s versatility might also allow him to provide cover at left-back after Adam Aznou, who had not been used, was sent out on loan and, if Jake O’Brien is restored at right-back, the two could play in the same side.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles may yet turn out to be a clever signing for Everton over time.
For the moment, though, Everton have a smaller squad than before, with only 18 senior outfield players. They also brought in almost £100m through player sales on deadline day alone. That may leave funds available for January, but it offers Moyes little immediate help.
The manager’s mood is unlikely to have improved, and the supporters have remained in open revolt during a summer marked by unrest.
In truth, Everton have begun the season well on the pitch. But if the turmoil of the last few days carries over into their performances, Balogun’s dramatic late reversal may end up causing far more than just reputational harm to the club.
