Everton line up move to sign “future £100m+” KDH replacement on loan

Everton might have suffered their annual Stamford Bridge stumble in the Premier League, but that does not detract from the fine work David Moyes and his team have been plying in recent weeks.

And so the Toffees have come crashing down – but only to ninth place. Not bad, especially when considering Everton had been chalked off as relegation candidates before the start of the term.

However, Everton don’t exactly have the largest squad in the division, and this is something Moyes will want to fix in January, with new additions lined up after injury scares to Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Chelsea.

Everton's January transfer plans

Moyes has rekindled on the blue half of Merseyside and enthusiasm and culture that have lifted Everton away from relegation danger. That was where they struggled over the past few years.

But Everton have a small squad; Moyes has unleashed 19 players in the Premier League this season, the lowest tally in the division.

There remains a need for full-backs, and while Thierno Barry is beginning to click into gear at number nine, Everton could do with another striker.

But they need a midfielder too, and according to Italian sources, via Sport Witness, Manchester United starlet Kobbie Mainoo could be the man for the job, having been earmarked as a potential candidate to bring to the club on a six-month loan deal.

Mainoo, 20, has struggled for game time in Ruben Amorim’s team, and he’s looking to leave the club on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Napoli are believed to be frontrunners for the £25k-per-week talent, but Moyes’s connection to Old Trafford and the allure of staying close to home and in the Premier League could sway the odds in the Blues’ favour.

Why Everton want Kobbie Mainoo

Moyes showed at West Ham his eye for a mid-season loan spell when he welcomed Jesse Lingard to West Ham United. The Man United outcast played, arguably, the best sustained spell of football in London, and Mainoo could repeat the trick.

A young and robust talent, Mainoo, a ten-cap England international, has already featured 84 times for Man United’s senior side, even on the fringe as he is under Amorim’s stewardship.

He scored as Erik ten Hag’s side beat their noisy neighbours in the FA Cup final in 2023/24, and he has shown physicality and technical grace that run beyond his years. He has been hailed as a “future £100m footballer” by journalist Alex Turk.

A dynamic and versatile midfielder, Mainoo clearly needs love and care from a manager who understands him, and Moyes has already shown his ability to take such wandering stars and rehouse them, rekindle them.

Look at Dewsbury-Hall, who is playing so well for Everton. The 27-year-old has tweaked his hamstring, and there is a nervous wait to see whether he will now be sidelined for the Christmas period.

Having a player like Mainoo in the mix would make a world of difference. Dewsbury-Hall’s young compatriot, after all, is a progressive and athletic player. He might not be quite as creative when on the ball, but he certainly has the right toolkit to succeed under Moyes’ wing.

As per FBref, in fact, Mainoo ranks among the top 8% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons and the top 18% for goal-creating actions per 90.

Even after playing such a bit-part role at the Theatre of Dreams this season, he has shown himself to be a difference-maker. In this, he can emulate and replace Dewsbury-Hall at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the second half of the season, a perfect foil for an outfit on the rise.

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By
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