The World Cup might be dampening some of it, but silly season is deeply upon us, as the rumors are flying around players moving clubs this summer.
While the needs for Everton are quite clear, it's strange to see a lot of the focus coming from areas of the pitch that are not high on the pecking order, namely attacking midfield and center forward.
Everton certainly need to be better in front of goal, but there's a case to be made that improvement in other areas, particularly fullback and defensive midfield, would help make the squad's current attacking options stronger.
So the continued focus on those lower need areas is concerning, to be sure, and might even be for nothing if you tend not to believe every rumor that is flylng around.
That said, two of the more recent reports fit this bill and might be worth exploring. The first is a retread link, the second is newer.
Liam Delap is back on the radar
According to Christopher Beesley at The Liverpool Echo, former player Ben Jacobs has described Everton as a "good fit" for Chelsea striker Liam Delap, although Jacobs does make it clear that the player wants to stay and fight for his place with the London Blues.
Newcastle and Tottenham were also name-checked by Jacobs in his report on Give Me Sport, with former England striker Alan Smith agreeing with Jacobs' assessment, noting that he believes "Delap coming in would be a good addition for the squad and a good addition for the starting XI. If he could gain a bit of confidence, because he will be a bit short of that after the year at Chelsea, get a few goals early on, and then they’ll have quite a player there, I think."
The Toffees were linked with Delap last summer before he chose to go to Chelsea, so the link isn't surprising, but with a new manager in London, a move isn't imminent.
The striker netted just twice in 43 appearances for Chelsea last season, too, so there will be questions about how much he improves Everton's goal-scoring record.
A loan-to-buy option in the offing?
Another report, this time from Football Insider, suggests that Everton are looking outside of England to bolster the striker ranks.
According to this rumor, Everton are eyeing a loan-to-buy move for Juventus' Lois Openda, a Belgian international who just joined the Italian giants from RB Leipzig last summer.
But it wasn't a sparkling debut campaign for Openda, who started just six of his 24 appearances for a Juventus side that underperformed in 2025/26, logging just 666 minutes and a single goal.
While he has played as a center forward, the Belgian is quite undersized (5'9", 161) to be a traditionial David Moyes striker, making the link feel a little weak, unless Everton see him as an option as an attacking midfielder or on the wing.
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