Everton have reached a critical juncture in their first full season under David Moyes’ tutelage (for the second time).
It’s fair to say that the Toffees have performed above expectations for much of the campaign, freeing themselves from the relegation fodder they have dwelt among in recent years.
Despite being short on numbers throughout the winter period, Everton have kept pushing for a place in the top half of the Premier League, and after 23 matches, they perch in tenth place.
But Moyes is more than seasoned in the managerial game, and he knows his side need to make a signing or two if their lofty goals are to be achieved this year.
Everton line up late-window deal
Where exactly Everton will move to strengthen over the final week of the January transfer window is open to question. To be sure, there are holes in attack and in midfield, but right-back has been an area in need of sprucing for a while.
Jake O’Brien has done well in the role, but Seamus Coleman is ageing and Nathan Patterson has only started three times in the Premier League this term as his unending injury problems continue.
According to TuttoMercato Web – via Sport Witness – Everton have emerged among the favourites to sign Genoa right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy this month, with the report stating that the Blues are in a better position to strike than rival contenders West Ham United.
Following this, journalist Sean Lunt has said that the Italians are “willing to accept” a deal for the 23-year-old before the window slams shut, so there’s a player for the taking, should the Toffees decide to proceed.
The 23-year-old could be available for an affordable €20m (£17m) fee, with Genoa even willing to spread that figure out across an initial loan spell before a mandatory purchase.
However, with Inter Milan latterly joining the race and quickly entering advanced talks with their Italian rivals, as per Fabrizio Romano, Everton will need to move fast, perhaps enticing Norton-Cuffy with the promise of regular game time in the Premier League.
Why Everton should sign Norton-Cuffy
Norton-Cuffy would solve the biggest positional problem threatening to take Moyes’ season off the hinges. He is a right-back, and the perfect contrasting profile to O’Brien, who is a centre-back masquerading as a right-back.
This season, he has started 20 times in Serie A, winning 575 of his dribbles and averaging 4.3 duels per game. An “insane” athlete with a “ridiculously physical” profile, as per analyst Ben Mattinson, Norton-Cuffy is the real deal, and someone who could make a marked impact on this Everton squad.
It’s worked out well over the past year, but Moyes’ side need an evolution down the right channel, and Norton-Cuffy would not only provide the solution but serve as Everton’s new version of Alex Iwobi, a former Arsenal starlet who brings it together in the Premier League as a Toffee.
Everton signed Iwobi for a heavy £34m fee in 2018, and he went on to feature 140 times across five seasons for Everton before moving back to London and wearing a Fulham kit.
He might not have cut the mustard at the Emirates, but Iwobi has since gone on to forge a respectable career for himself in England’s top flight, and Norton-Cuffy could emulate him in this.
It’s probably fair to say that Iwobi’s finest days in the Premier League have come in a Fulham shirt, but Everton gave him a platform after middling returns with Arsenal after graduating from the famed Hale End academy.
Indeed, the Nigeria international has even been named as “one of the most underrated midfielders in the country” by journalist Daniel Storey, mixing industrious energy with technical quality at Craven Cottage.
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Alex Iwobi – Career Stats by Position |
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|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Apps |
Goals + Assists |
|
Left wing |
172 |
25 + 22 |
|
Right wing |
128 |
18 + 15 |
|
Attacking midfield |
71 |
5 + 15 |
|
Central midfield |
33 |
2 + 3 |
|
Centre-forward |
7 |
7 + 0 |
|
Data via Transfermarkt |
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Norton-Cuffy isn’t a midfielder, but he does boast a similar kind of positional dynamism, having been fielded on the right flank on occasion for Genoa and during his formative years in north London. His power and quality on the ball have even led analyst Ben Mattinson to declare him “Hale End’s very own Reece James” before he was sold in 2024.
By signing for Everton, he would join the likes of Iwobi, James Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in making a name for himself on Merseyside after being overlooked by the division’s biggest fish.
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