Everton manager David Moyes is not happy with his attacking options. Between them, Beto and Thierno Barry have only scored five times in the Premier League this season, missing a combined total of 12 big chances, as per Sofascore.
For reference, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is thriving for Leeds United at Elland Road. January’s Premier League Player of the Month, the English striker has eight goals from his past nine matches.
But Moyes knows that the centre-forwards are not alone in their struggles, and he is also searching for ways to improve his side’s build-up play and dynamism from midfield.
Everton targeting English midfielder
Everton have been bolstered by the progress made by long-term injury absentees Jarrad Branthwaite and Seamus Coleman. Especially the former. In this, Moyes’ defensive issues have been eased.
But with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall injured, Idrissa Gueye still away at AFCON and James Garner attracting interest from Manchester United, a well-placed central midfield signing wouldn’t go amiss.
And according to TEAMtalk, Everton are in with a shot at AC Milan’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek, having been offered the one-time Chelsea prospect as he looks for a route back to England. Talks are believed to have taken place with intermediaries.
Loftus-Cheek, 29, is in the penultimate year of his contract in Italy, and would bring a progressive and physical kind of style that Moyes knows well.
How Loftus-Cheek could star under Moyes
Loftus-Cheek has only started eight times in Serie A this season, but he’s racked up since joining from Stamford Bridge in a £15m deal in 2023, showcasing an aptitude for scoring, with 11 goals and four assists to boot.
He is an athletic and passionate player, remarked by pundit Ian Wright to play with a “fire in his belly” as he commands from midfield.
Given his progressiveness, he might even operate in a similar way to Declan Rice, who thrived, of course, under Moyes’ wing at West Ham United.
Rice has unlocked a more expansive style of play since joining the Gunners, but he still showcased such qualities in Moyes’ Hammers project, and given that the Scotsman has implemented a similar style at the Hill Dickinson, you begin to see why Loftus-Cheek has been earmarked.
He is not as good as his Arsenal compatriot, but the £85k-per-week talent is cut from similar tactical cloth, and thus could play an important role for Everton over the latter stage of the campaign, adding flavour.
Declan Rice in the Premier League
Season
Apps
Goals + Assists
25/26
20
4 + 5
24/25
35
4 + 7
23/24
38
7 + 9
West Ham – Arsenal (£105m)
22/23
37
4 + 2
21/22
36
1 + 4
20/21
32
2 + 1
19/20
38
1 + 3
18/19
34
2 + 0
17/18
26
0 + 0
16/17
1
0 + 0
Data via Transfermarkt
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 4% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 3% for aerial duels won per 90, underscoring both his stamina and physicality, winning duels and adding an attacking dimension when he drifts forward and into space.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
Loftus-Cheek is no spring chicken, but he’s still a robust and effective midfielder, capable of collecting and driving the ball forward while upholding the midfield principles that Moyes would demand.
The one-time Chelsea man would perhaps emulate Rice in that regard. He may not be of the same standard as England’s star midfielder, but he shares a likeness with him, and through this, he could become a mainstay for an industrious Moyes outfit at Everton.
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