Marcel Brands updates on Everton’s transfer plans

Everton’s director of football Marcel Brands has indicated that the Toffees don’t have ‘big plans’ of strengthening the squad during the January transfer window. The Merseyside outfit were closing the gap to the top six by the end of November but they have since gone through a lean run of form which has dropped them to the bottom half of the table.

Owing to this, there has been speculation linking the Toffees with multiple players especially in the forward department but Brands has said that the chance of pursuing recruits in the window remain minimal, he quipped: “We don’t have big plans. It’s a very difficult period to bring players in. We don’t want to let our best players go, also other clubs don’t. I’m more focused on the summer window than the January window. If we sell or loan players, then maybe we have to do something, and if we do something, it has to be good.”

The Merseyside outfit have managed to better their performances in the Premier League when compared to the previous season after bolstering across the key departments in the summer, but there nonetheless remains a weakness upfront with usual regulars Cenk Tosun and Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggling to impress.

Richarlison has provided some relief for the Toffees by switching to the centre-forward role with reasonable success but the club may still seek to strengthen the department at the midway stage of the season. According to reports, Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi has been touted as a possible candidate to fulfil the role following the Belgian’s return from an unsuccessful loan spell with Valencia.

Silva’s team are prepared to offer as much as £18m to secure a permanent move for the striker but it remains to be seen whether the Blues accept the package, given they had purchased him for nearly twice the sum from Marseille three years ago.