Everton King deal still leaves forward issues

READING, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: Joshua King of AFC Bournemouth reacts after Reading score the third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Reading and AFC Bournemouth at Madejski Stadium on January 29, 2021 in Reading, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
READING, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: Joshua King of AFC Bournemouth reacts after Reading score the third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Reading and AFC Bournemouth at Madejski Stadium on January 29, 2021 in Reading, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

The Toffees face Leeds United tonight and new Everton forward Joshua King will get a chance to look at his new team-mates. Despite his arrival are there still questions about the club’s forwards long-term?

King came through the door at the very last minute and only after the club had let Cenk Tosun and then Anthony Gordon leave on loan. This seemed at face value at least, like a bit of a panic buy from Everton.

The Blues were heavily linked with the Norway international in past windows and manager Carlo Ancelotti has said that King was one of the players he was looking at in the summer, so perhaps this wasn’t such a rush job as it first appeared to be on Monday night.

Fulham’s interest complicated things as well and so it was a wait and see situation late on deadline day as to which of the two Premier Leagues clubs he would choose. 

One concern is that King is perhaps a player in decline whose best years are behind him. Certainly that’s what his stats over the past few seasons would seem to indicate.

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Lets hope that isn’t the case and the chance to revive his top-flight career and get a permanent contract with the Toffees, enables him to find his best form again and perhaps help his new team secure European football.

As to the players who left, Tosun is only on loan at former club Besiktas for six months and it’s not certain whether there is any obligation for the Turkish club to buy in this deal.

So at the moment some of his wages at least are, depending on the exact details of the deal, off the club’s books.

But if Besiktas don’t want him back permanently and he returns in the summer, then this issue will still not have been sorted out and the Toffees will need to start all over again trying to find him a new club.

Bernard also looked as though he was on his way out of Goodison Park only for the proposed deal to take him to a new club in the Middle East to fall through.

That means he is another forward that the Blues will have to try again to move on in the summer as he doesn’t seem to have a future under Ancelotti although this club he was close to joining on Monday might still come back for him in the summer.

Finally while I’m sure every Evertonian hopes that King is a success, I still think Everton will need another centre-forward and possibly a young winger in six months time to further improve their competitiveness next season as the team continues to evolve under Ancelotti.