Walsh and Allardyce continue search for attacking help

Recently, it seems that Everton’s strategy in the transfer market has been painfully scattershot. Positional needs are ignored, and areas of strength are looked at as areas of need.

If a player around Europe who is perceived to be available has a good match, you can set your watch by Everton (reportedly) being interested. Part of this, of course, is other teams taking advantage of Farhad Moshiri’s financial clout.

Clubs likely feel they may be able to incite a bidding war by leaking that Everton are interested in their player. The other part, though, is simply that Everton look to have no clue what they want.

Case in point: Josip Ilicic. The Slovenian was Atalanta’s best player against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday in the Europa League, and mere hours later, Everton are linked. Per CalcioMercato:

Among the teams that closely follow Josip Ilicic is Everton. Toffees will look for quality reinforcements in the summer, but Atalanta has no intention of depriving himself of his number 72.

The Slovenian attacking midfielder is, in a vacuum, a decent football player. He’s 30, though, and plays in an area of the field where the Blues are well stocked. Ilicic’s return of 11 goals and 8 assists this season is superb, certainly, but is he demonstrably better than Gylfi Sigurdsson? Wayne Rooney? Tom Davies? Probably not.

Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images

Overpaid, on-loan center backs? Aging attacking midfielders? Another young winger? Everton have either bought or been linked with all of them, yet continually ignore the desperate need for a left back or the possibility of replacing Morgan Schneiderlin.

We don’t know what in the world Sam Allardyce and Steve Walsh are doing.

Do they?