AS far as Everton goes this week it’s been very much a case of ‘as you were’ with little or no activity in the transfer market – not even in the way of rumours.
It is, to be fair, a situation about which manager David Moyes and the club had been quite open, even before the January window, in saying that loan deals would be the limit of their ambition.
That is always going to be a problem as the area he most needs to strengthen is the most difficult position to recruit for – even when transfer funds are available.
No-one is willing to let good strikers go so Moyes needs to be creative if he is hoping to do any business.
In terms of existing personnel it’s very much the same as, except that Marouane Fellaini is suspended, putting even greater pressure on already stretched resources.
In the past Merseyside derby games have sometimes seen young and untried players – even debutants – shoot to prominence and I well remember playing alongside Billy Kenny in a victory over Liverpool.
Kenny made his debut as an 18-year old and turned in a fantastic performance on the day, so Monday night might provide an opportunity for someone like Dan Gosling, who has been impressing in recent weeks, to really announce his arrival.
