Everton failed to secure the signing of any new additions to strengthen their forward line in the January transfer window and now Sean Dyche will need to perform nothing short of a miracle to secure survival in the Premier League.
The Toffees have finally climbed out of the relegation zone into 16th following their victory over Leeds United on Saturday, however, they still remain just one point clear of the drop with 15 fixtures remaining and a tight contest in the bottom half of the table.
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s constant injury concerns, Richarlison’s exit and more recently, Anthony Gordon’s move to Newcastle United the forward line has been significantly weakened which is reflected in their league goal tally with the joint-worst (17) in the entire Premier League.
As a result, it should have been a top priority for the Everton hierarchy to bring in a goal-scoring threat in January to improve the performances on the pitch and ultimately improve their chances of survival this season, however, it was clear that the club did not identify the right player to take the crucial role.
Did Arnautovic nearly join Everton?
One player who was linked with a move to the blue side of Merseyside last month was Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic but last week it was revealed that the club chairman Bill Kenwright blocked the signing.
Football Insider reported that Farhad Moshiri had agreed a deal to sign the player but Kenwright swooped in at the last minute to strongly advise against offering a big money contract to a player in the latter stages of his career with a £150k-per-week two-year deal offered.
Was Kenwright right to block Arnautovic’s move?
The 33-year-old striker is renowned for being a gifted but troubled striker and although he has scored far more goals than Calvert-Lewin this season with eight so far compared to the Toffees forward’s one, Kenwright may have saved Dyche a massive headache.
Arnautovic will be known mostly for his Premier League spells at Stoke City and West Ham United tallying up 184 appearances, 43 goals and 33 assists during his time in England but his indiscretions outside of his goal-scoring have taken the attention away from his quality in front of goal.
The £58k-per-week Austrian – dubbed a “nightmare” by former Hammers captain Kevin Nolan – has a history of shocking outbursts and poor temperament with the player investigated for racism on the pitch on two occasions over his career so far.
His most recent fall-out came in Euro 2020 when Arnautovic was given a one-match ban for making an alleged racist comment to defender Ezgjan Alioski in a clash with North Macedonia.
It appears that Arnautovic has a habit for rubbing his opponents, teammates and managers up the wrong way with even Jose Mourinho calling out the player and claiming he has “the attitude of a child” when managing him at Inter Milan.
Indeed, Everton are desperate for goals but ultimately signing Arnautovic could’ve been more of a hinderance than a help if he was to continue his brutish behaviour at Goodison Park which may well have become another wasteful investment of money for Moshiri.
With that being said, it looks like Everton dodged a bullet by not signing the striker in January and should now focus on identifying the right players who can make a long-term positive impact on the team next season.
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