Everton may seem to have shifted their transfer strategy for the better, but there always remains this fear that the club might relapse.
After all, despite the points deduction turmoil off it, things on the pitch have been uncharacteristically smooth across the last 12 months.
Finally, the team seem to be gelling and buying into Sean Dyche’s no-nonsense philosophy, and were it not for a record winless run mid-way through the Premier League campaign, they would have finished even further away from the relegation zone, despite already ending the season 14 points clear.
Kevin Thelwell deserves much acclaim for forging a squad capable of competing, however he unsurprisingly still wants more.
He needs to ensure he does not fly too close to the sun with all these transfers.
Armando Broja now expected to leave Chelsea
Although, this particular deal might be one forged out of necessity, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s Everton future still so up in the air.
Seemingly unwilling to sign a new contract, but having neglected to move to Newcastle United which saw Everton’s deal for Yankuba Minteh fall through, the striker is in limbo, leaving Thelwell to scour the market just in case he does leave.
And he seems to have landed on Armando Broja, with the Toffees’ interest over the last few months well-documented.
Whilst this latest update on his future does not explicitly mention Dyche’s team, it does concern them, as journalist Ben Jacobs writes: ‘Now Armando Broja is back from Euro 2024, he is expected to leave Chelsea with talks likely to advance quickly.’
Everton should steer clear of risky transfer
Although a promising young striker with justified similarities to the exit-linked Calvert-Lewin, the sum that Chelsea will look to command for Broja is simply not the kind of fee that Everton will want to be paying, regardless of having passed the PSR deadline.
After all, he is relatively unproven in the Premier League, with just one full season on loan with Southampton coming three years ago, and even then he only notched six goals.
Last campaign, during which he endured a historic barren run in front of goal, Calvert-Lewin still managed to score seven.
There is potentially a much brighter future with the Albania international as their striking figurehead, and every chance that he might take like a duck to water at Goodison Park.
But, it is equally likely that he would underwhelm, flailing under the pressure of being the new number nine at a club like Everton and not quite adapting to Dyche’s system.
This likelihood makes it a risk Thelwell cannot afford to make, and unless he can negotiate some kind of dramatic discount, he needs to move on.