Fair to say, Everton really need to strengthen their attacking options in January.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth means the Toffees have not failed to score in eight of their last ten Premier League matches, leaving them just one point and two places above the relegation zone.
Also, as noted during Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, since the start of last season, Everton have scored just 26 goals from open play; for context, that’s a ginormous 30 fewer than the team second-bottom of this list, namely West Ham.
Under Sean Dyche, spending has been very minimal but, following the Friedkin Group’s takeover, confirmed in mid-December, there’s likely to be scope for the Blues to bring in much-needed reinforcements this month.
Premier League player wanted by Everton
As reported by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter earlier this week, Everton had “opened talks” with Aston Villa, as they attempt to sign Jaden Philogene.
However, in a big twist, the player is now on his way to Ipswich Town with Fabrizio Romano having revealed on Wednesday night that he’s due to travel to Portman Road for a medical.
Despite being just 22-years-old, Philogene has already played for Stoke City, Cardiff City, Hull City and now Aston Villa twice.
It was last season, when he was with the Tigers, he really burst onto the scene, scoring an astonishing rabona against Rotherham in February 2024, that was nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award.
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This led to journalist Lewis Railton describing him as a “skilful, yet direct winger”, labelling him a “real talent”.
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How Jaden Philogene would have improved Everton’s attack
Well, since moving back to the Midlands, the winger has been given limited opportunities, starting just four matches across all competitions, totalling 535 minutes overall, yet to register a goal or an assist during his second spell in claret and blue.
Thus, a move away from Villa Park in January could be best for Philogene’s development.
As mentioned earlier, Everton really find goals hard to come by; they’re the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season with just 15 goals, while they’re also bottom of the xG standings, accumulating a miserly 18.1 to date.
Their joint-top scorers are Dwight McNeil and Iliman Ndiaye, both with a miserly three goals, so how does Philogene compare to the Toffees’ current wide-attackers?
|
Philogene vs Everton’s wingers (23/24 & 24/25) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistic |
Philogene |
McNeil |
Harrison |
Ndiaye |
|
Appearances |
48 |
56 |
54 |
67 |
|
Minutes |
3,353 |
4,732 |
3,720 |
4,116 |
|
Goals |
12 |
7 |
4 |
8 |
|
Assists |
6 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
|
Progressive carries |
163 |
111 |
89 |
137 |
|
Shots |
125 |
90 |
60 |
73 |
|
Shots on target % |
32% |
27.4% |
21.7% |
31.5% |
|
Goals – xG |
+3.3 |
+1.7 |
-2.8 |
-1.3 |
|
Shot-creating actions |
133 |
190 |
87 |
130 |
|
Take-on success % |
44.7% |
48.5% |
36.4% |
50.7% |
As outlined, since the start of last season, Philogene compares favourably to Everton’s existing winger options.
Shot-creating actions are pieces of play that lead to a shot. These include moments such as a pass, take-on or foul being drawn.
He’s scored more goals, registered more progressive carries and attempted more shots than all of the trio, most crucially of all, Philogene has overperformced his xG, while Jack Harrison and Ndiaye have both underperformed theirs.
McNeil, the most impressive of the Toffees’ trio, has missed the last six games due to a knee injury, with Dyche describing this issue as “a bit trickier than we thought”, but even when he was playing regularly, Philogene was outperforming his numbers.
Thus, put succinctly, this is a deal Everton should be gutted about failing to complete.
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