The January transfer window is fast approaching around the corner, and one team that needs to put their hands in their pockets is Ronald Koeman’s Everton side.
The Toffees started the season strongly, at one point only sitting behind Manchester United by a few points, but a winter loss of form has seen them start to drop down the Premier League table – compounded by yet another derby day loss to rivals Liverpool in their last fixture before Christmas.
Summer signing Yannick Bolasie showed signs of promise during his time on the pitch, but a potential season-ending injury against Manchester United, combined with Ross Barkley’s struggle to make an impact in the opening few months, has seen Romelu Lukaku desperately isolated up front.
Here at The Boot Room we take a look at three potential targets for Koeman over the next month…
Memphis Depay
The link between Memphis Depay and Everton has hardly been kept under wraps over the last few months; Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has made it clear that the Dutchman is not part of his future plans for the club, and Koeman has explicitly shown his interest in the winger.
According to a source close to the Manchester side, a deal worth up to £25 million is already waiting to happening for the out-of-favour Depay as soon as January comes, and Koeman reportedly believes that he could be the man to help his fellow Dutchman return to form.
Since Jose Mourinho became the manager at Old Trafford back in summer, Depay has only started once for the Red Devils, with Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial preferred on the wings.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of the Dutchman’s impending departure came at the start of December when Mourinho completely left him out of his squad to travel to Ukraine for United’s Europa League tie against Zorya Luhansk, essentially putting the final nail in Depay’s Manchester United coffin.
Despite a severe lack of first team football, the 22-year-old sent out a message to prospective new managers whilst on international duty with Holland in early November, scoring a brace in a 3-1 victory over Luxembourg and suggesting that he can re-find his form that brought him to England in the first place.
The untimely injury to winger Yannick Bolasie last month has only added fuel to the Memphis fire, and with Depay the most obvious like-for-like replacement it is looking ever more likely that the Dutchman will team up with his fellow compatriot Koeman and be wearing an Everton shirt next year.