Two Signings Who Can Get Everton To Europe

1. Callum McManaman

Callum McManaman, 22, a player that Everton let go at the age of sixteen and helped current boss Roberto Martinez lift the FA Cup in 2012 with an eye-catching display. Would a Merseyside return be a good fit for the young winger? I think beyond this season, when inevitably Gerard Deulofeu doesn’t sign permanently from Barcelona; he’d be a great catch for the Toffees. Much like Kevin Mirallas, McManaman is able to play on both wings and possesses a great surge of pace and a decent end product to match – something Mirallas has lacked this season, I feel personally.

England manager Roy Hodgson name dropped McManaman as a player he is monitoring with the World Cup looming in the summer, perhaps a surprise to some considering his status as a Championship player. A January move would maybe be good for him in terms of prospectively getting a look in in that England squad come June but Martinez will be looking elsewhere to fill the shoes of Darron Gibson and Arouna Kone temporarily as both have long-term injuries.

2. Tom Ince

Tom Ince, 21, on the other hand is a former Liverpool youth player, something that may not go down well with some people in football but equally would be irrelevant to supporters now that he’s won a lot of plaudits at Blackpool. Ince is a winger who has a knack of scoring goals from the left-hand side and technically gifted. Personally, I think he is an astute character, he turned down a move to Cardiff in the summer as I think he is holding out for a move to a team with continuity in the Premier League. Paul will want what’s best for his son and I think with Pienaar ageing and not looking as sharp as he used to, he’d fill his shoes quite nicely.

Both players are of a similar age and if Everton wanted to reinvigorate the side with two talented English players, both of them would be good buys. With the statistic of only 33% of starters on the opening day of the season being British, I think Everton could do worse providing the prices were right for the promising pair.

With these two signings, Everton will have good attacking depth and with the tactical mind of Roberto Martinez, the toffees will have a remote chance of qualifying for Europe.