With the 25/26 season now less than a month away, clubs are acting quickly to get their transfer business done ahead of the new season, as they make sure they don’t get left behind.
One club having an exciting transfer window are Everton, who have signed France U21 striker Thierno Barry from Villarreal, as well as Mark Travers from Bournemouth to provide competition for Jordan Pickford. They have also made Charly Alcaraz’s loan from Flamengo a permanent deal.
They do not seem to be done there, however. It has today been reported that they are on the verge of signing Bayern Munich and Morocco international left-back Adam Aznou, for a fee of around £8 million pounds.
Additionally, talks are also advancing to strike a deal to sign promising Lyon winger Malick Fofana, who has been linked to several different sides in Europe this summer.
These two signings would offer some serious dynamism to a side that needs it. Aznou had a promising loan spell at Real Valladolid last season, and is someone Bayern fans have wanted to see more of. He will offer a lot more in possession and athletically than Vitaliy Mykolenko.
Meanwhile, Fofana provides some serious pace out wide that Everton have so desperately lacked. The likes of Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil have solid output but are more attacking midfielders without being super speedy. With Fofana, they have someone who can offer a threat in behind.
Although just 19 years of age for most of last season, the Belgian international scored five goals and provided four assists in 1597 Ligue 1 minutes for Lyon. He also scored three league goals in 549 minutes the season before.
This sort of dynamism and output potential is something that would be seriously useful for the Toffees. We saw the likes of Jarrod Bowen really take to the Premier League under the stewardship of David Moyes, and we could see similar with Fofana in his own right.
To go back to Aznou, we also saw Emerson go from a Chelsea cast off to one of the most consistent left-backs in the Premier League under Moyes, and Everton fans will be hopeful similar can happen with the Moroccan. He will be hoping his performances are enough to warrant being selected for the home AFCON this winter.
With those two signings, Barry, and perhaps more – with Moyes saying he wants as many as nine new signings – there could be some serious cause for optimism on the blue half of Merseyside, as Everton enter their new era at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
