Everton deadline day deals still leave unanswered questions

After a typically hectic transfer deadline day Everton have completed the signing of two midfielders in Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli.

New Everton boss Frank Lampard has moved to strengthen his options in the middle of the park but while both the two players are talented additions, these deals leave several questions unanswered.

The most important one is should the Blues have brought in a defensive midfielder and/or a centre-back instead of one of these players?

I think the answer has to be yes. If it was a choice, I would have taken van de Beek and a defensive midfielder like Denis Zacharia over Alli.

Yes I know Zacharia was probably always out of the Toffees reach, but a player of that ilk would have better suited Everton’s needs rather than signing another attacking midfielder.

Alli is a player who has badly lost his way at Tottenham and there have been rumours he might have become distracted by money, fame and the London lifestyle. His attitude and focus are questionable too.

Perhaps a change of scenery is exactly what he needs. Certainly, if the Blues were to get the player we saw three or four seasons ago then in an ideal scenario he would be a terrific addition.

But, the issue is does this team need him more than a further defensive option in the centre where Everton are so often outnumbered, outworked and overrun?

With Abdoulaye Doucoure out probably for around a month, Tom Davies also injured and likely to take even longer to recover, Allan well below par recently and Jean-Philippe Gbamin sidelined and apparently out-of-favour, the Toffees need a more powerful, athletic presence in midfield.

However, Lampard hasn’t moved to solve that problem so the issue is will the Blues come to regret this, and how will these new signings fit into the manager’s side?

There are several options Lampard could consider to solve the problem of additional energy and defensive protection in midfield.

Assuming hs goes with a 4-3-3, which has generally been his preferred formation, the obvious solution is for Allan to drop deeper as he often did in Carlo Ancelotti’s team earlier last season.

But, the Brazilian isn’t really a natural in that role, he lacks pace too and he had Doucoure alongside him last season. So, could he cover the ground well enough if both the other two midfielders are playing in a very attacking way?

Another option is for ven de Beek to play in a deeper role alongside Allan for example, leaving Alli to operate as a number ten.

That’s fine and while van de Beek can play in a more disciplined way and contribute defensively and will do so, his strengths are his passing and creativity. Playing in a deeper position that inhibited his natural game was part of the reason why he struggled at Manchester United.

Perhaps he will end up replicating what Andre Gomes was offering when he first came into the team helping the Toffees keep the ball a lot better and providing quality service to the attacking players.

Lampard likes his teams to have plenty of possession and if van de Beek does this sort of role effectively alongside a returning Doucoure in particular, then that could work well.

One other possibility is that the manager might find a way to revive Jean-Philippe Gbamin’s Everton career. The Ivory Coast midfielder has been an almost uniquely unlucky individual with injury but fingers crossed, he finally seems to have put those problems behind him.

Gbamin is well-suited to playing as a deeper lying number six and he can also operate in central defence. Could he still have a role to play in Lampard’s new-look team?

Alternatively, Lampard could try one of either Mason Holgate (who it was thought might leave in this window but hasn’t) or Ben Godfrey in a number six-type position in front of the defence. They have the pace and are natural defenders.

Both have played in the middle before and while this isn’t an ideal solution perhaps that’s what Lampard is thinking as a short-term solution.

Finally, given his reputation for bringing through young players he might give Tyler Onyango more opportunities to see if he can step up and prove he has the ability to be a Premier League midfielder.

Another youngster who is gaining a good reputation in the Under-23’s and plays as a defensive midfielder in a three, Lewis Warrington, has been loaned to Tranmere for the rest of the season, He is not ready for the Premier League yet but offers another potential long-term possibility.

Whatever solution the manager comes up with, Everton must be stronger and more competitive in midfield during the rest of the season and give better protection to a defence that is highly porus and very suspectible to conceding preventable goals.

However much the attacking side improves with these new players, if the team carry on leaking goals the way it has, the Blues will struggle to survive and avoid the dreaded drop.