It’s all happening isn’t it!

I mean...kind of.

Lot’s of questions to let’s get down to business.

But first, a haiku:

Will the Toffees add?

Or is this the squad for now?

Richarlison, please!

Now about those questions.....

Let’s get to them!

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To be fair to Matt, he posed this question Thursday, before Friday’s madness.

Speaking of that madness.........

First, the deal that looks closest to completion:

There is a lot to get into with Richarlison.

To start off, the money.

Yes, it is a LARGE chunk of change for a player who has played one, admittedly inconsistent (more on that later) season, and hasn’t scored this calendar year.

I can’t speak to the negotiations, but there is certainly no way Everton were going to get a discount from Watford FC after the Marco Silva debacle.

In fact, the rumor that immediately started was that the final bill will include enough cash to make any future Watford v Everton ‘Marco Silva Tap-up Trial’ disappear.

Also, Watford bought the Brazilian winger just last summer and would only part with such a talented player if they were going to be turning a HUGE profit.

But really, when it comes to how we pay for new players......

I completely understand that it can hurt our bottom line and have ramifications down the line, but if Farhad is comfortable forking it over for a 21-year old STUD.

Yes, I said STUD.

There is NO DOUBT Richarlison has every tool necessary to be an elite winger.

Check out his first few months in the Premier League.

Of course the (at that point 20-year-old) was playing at Watford under current Toffees boss Marco Silva and looked to be one of the breakout stars of the season.

Of course, after Everton ‘undermined’ the Hornets season with their pursuit of Silva last year,

Richarlison sleepwalked his way through the rest of the season, along with the rest of the Watford side.

It’s obvious that Silva is incredibly confident in his ability to get the best out of the young attacker.

One thing that is completely overlooked is that the Brazilian winger played last season on the heels of his finals campaign with his former Brazilian side Fluminense.

Just HOW MUCH has he played?

From May 17th, 2017 to May 18th, 2018 Richarlison played 51.3 90 minute matches.

Basically he played a professional match a week for a year, including a move across the Atlantic, and didn’t miss a match.

#durable

II know there are a lot of Everton fans who are skeptical of this signing.

I, however, think that signing a 21-year old exciting winger who has shown the ability to be successful in the Premier League is a good one.

The other that sounds like it MAY be heading towards completion are French leftback Lucas Digne and Colombian centerback Yerry Mina, both from Barcelona.

Mina’s agent confirmed conversations with Marcel Brands, and Everton have lodged a substantial bid for the full back.

Both are positions in DESPERATE need of youth and quality.

Leighton Baines is not Wolverine and can’t play forever, and while I have loved everything about Antonee Robinson so far, it’s tough to see Baines sticking on after this season.

That means Digne and Robinson can man the position for years to come and after 12897 windows Everton fans can finally stop asking.....

“Are we going to sign a left back?!?!”

Mina, on the other hand, would undoubtedly be the best center back on the roster by a comfortable margin and is perfectly suited for the English game.

His signing would MASSIVELY strengthen the spine of the Toffees and give them a legitimate platform (along with Pickford, Coleman and the rest of the back 5) to reach soem of the goals that have eluded Everton in the recent, and not-so-recent, past.

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Well for this question we will just sub in Richarlison for Malcolm and forge ahead.

First off, let me state how much I LOVE Nikola Vlasic.

Vlasic is many things:

• Crafty
• Strong
• Forward-thinking

Just to name a few.

He is, however, clearly NOT one thing:

• A winger

No matter what a flailing Ronald Koeman, overwhelmed David Unsworth or underwhelming Sam Allardyce think, the young Croatian is as much of a winger as Ross Barkley ever was.

Sure, they are athletic enough to come inside and hold up the ball, but it negates their best talents.

Now, as for WHERE in the midfield Vlasic should play, I am going to take the easy way out and say I’m not 100% sure, but only because we have yet to see enough of him in the center of the field.

I’m worried he doesn’t have the legs to be a #8, but I’m also not 100% he has the level of vision I would like to see from a #10.

Ok.....so......

Well I would like to see Vlasic get some League appearances as a sub and some early Cup starts to see what he can do in the middle of the park.

If things aren’t clicking and he won’t have the chance to be a regular contributor, I think he would be a great candidate to make a move to the Championship where he can play on a regular basis and come back stronger next season with the possibility of being a regular contributor.

To be honest, it may be out of his hands as Joe Williams and Kieran Dowell are both looking to use their own loans last season as springboards to the first team at Goodison this year,

If they are successful a loan is probably going to happen even if Vlasic is in rare form.

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Is the ongoing, or not happening at all, Ademola Lookman situation is incredibly frustrating.

I wish the club would just come out and say: “Ademola Lookman is not for Sale”.

It sure would make me feel a lot better.

Let’s be honest, the imminent signing of Richarlison makes EVERY Toffees fan nervous.

Are the Blue going to sell the hysterically talented youngster?

Are you Everton?????

It seems ridiculous to think the Toffees would be even CONSIDERING selling the young English winger, but this is Everton so there is always a reason.

In this case, it’s hard not to point at the decision making of the previous three managers, ESPECIALLY Sam Allardyce.

After Ronald Koeman abandoned the youngster as the imminently doomed manager tried to keep his head above water, Unsworth had no idea what to do with him.

Then, Sam Allardyce was hired and Lookman found himself loaned to RB Leipzig in Germany.

Meaning either:

A. Sam Allardyce saw Lookman play and deemed him not ready for the Premier League. So he had him loaned to a Champions League side in the Bundesliga. (The idiocy is so obvious it hurts.)

OR

B. The big bosses shipped him out to avoid having him have to play Allardyce’s style, and in doing so just didn’t get him thinking about the other side of the fence, but he actually let him run through the grass.

So Lookman is left to think either the club is run by idiots, I mean who else would hire Allardyce?

OR

He is left yearning to return to a team that actually has it’s house in order.

Either way, Marco Silva has a tough, albeit straightforward, task ahead of him.

The Portugese manager has to make Lookman feel special while also showing that him and Marcel Brands have a long-term plan with short-term impacts.

(That makes the Richarlison signing that much weirder, though the Brazilian can play #7, #9 or #11. )

It’s hard to imagine that Silva wouldn’t have Lookman in the XI on opening Day August 11th at Wolves (injuries notwithstanding).

Silva is going to have to walk the fine line of making Lookman know he is a major part of the plan, while still pushing to get the best out of the winger.

I would venture to guess that Silva is focusing on the task in front of him, while also making sure to butter up Lookman a little bit.

Building an attacking game plan that allows young Ademola to shine will certainly have Lookman excited,

To be honest though, with the new regime having little to no interest in nostalgia, and no patience for petulance, if Lookman’s attitude isn’t right, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Blues cash in if the money is.

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TOFFEE TUNES

INCUBUS

S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

It’s a classic, but much like Silva and Brands are trying to do for the Toffees, this album gave Incubus a platform to build on and reach the awesome, however brief, peak they did.