After Everton’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, David Moyes admitted that the dream of qualifying for Europe is disappearing for the team.
The Toffees are four points off seventh place with two games remaining and will need a flurry of results to sneak into seventh place to have a chance of qualifying for the Conference League.
Moyes said: “And I enjoyed talking about Europe, because it makes the fans dream again and I hope that maybe it can happen again.
“As you know, I did it at West Ham, so I was hoping to get to a level where we can try to compete again at the European level. It hasn’t gone away, but it’s definitely getting a little bit further away for us at the moment.”
With that not happening this month, the Toffees’ aim next season should be to qualify for one of the European competitions by finishing top of the Premier League.
Everton are in talks to sign the Premier League star
In order to push for Europe, the club needs to be bold in the transfer market and pursue ambitious targets, as they did when they brought James Rodriguez to Merseyside in 2020.
The Colombian spent a year at the club after joining on a free transfer from Real Madrid and produced six goals and 11 ‘big chances’ created in 23 games in the Premier League.
According to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, the Toffees are now in talks to sign their next version of Rodriguez as defender John Stones.
The club is said to be discussing a move that could bring the England player back to Merseyside when his contract with Manchester City expires this summer.
Speaking to Football Insider, Wyness said: “It’s not finalised, it’s an option and there have been discussions, but nothing has been finalized yet.
He added: “There has been interest, as I understand it, from Bayern Munich and that might be an option for him to choose. He might get a better deal in terms of a longer contract from what I hear. So it’s not certain, but it’s still being discussed.”
How John Stones can be a replica of James Rodriguez at Everton
Stones, who was sold by Everton to Man City for £47.5m in 2016 after playing 95 games on Merseyside, would have been James Rodriguez’s counterpart at the Toffees as he would have arrived at the club as a world-class talent.
Yes, Rodriguez, joined Everton as a World Cup star with Colombia and as a two-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, while also winning two Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich.
Stones will return to the club with the same pedigree as he has been a formidable player for Manchester City for the past nine years. In fact, only two defenders in the Premier League have made more PFA Team of the Year than him in that time.
|
Most PFA TOTY entries from 2016 |
|
|---|---|
|
Centre-backs |
Included |
|
Virgil van Dijk |
5 |
|
William Saliba |
3 |
|
John Stones |
2 |
|
Gabriel |
2 |
|
Ruben Dias |
2 |
The defender made the PFA Team of the Year for the 2020/21 and 2022/23 seasons for his impressive performances at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s backline.
Stones, dubbed “world class” by journalist Henry Winter last month, has been described as the “far and away” best player in the Champions League final against Inter in 2023 by his manager.
The 31-year-old has made 293 appearances, six Premier League titles and one Champions League title during his time at the Etihad, and could add a seventh league title this month.
Stones also started for England when they reached the finals of the European Championship in 2020 and 2024, showing his quality at international and club level.
Like Rodriguez, however, the experienced star is plagued by injury problems. He has missed 24 games through injury this season and Everton will risk his fitness by signing him this summer.
It is a risk worth taking, however, given his pedigree and what he has achieved in the game as one of the Premier League’s best defenders over the past decade.
Better signing than Stones: Everton could see bid accepted for £20m star
Everton may be keen on a Premier League star this summer.
