The sale of Amadou Onana would mark the latest exit in a summer of transition at Everton. It has long been clear this summer would present an opportunity for director of football Kevin Thelwell to reshape the squad and the departure of the 22-year-old would be another symbol of that.
Should the £50m move to Aston Villa get over the line, as expected, it would strengthen the club’s financial position while also potentially creating more opportunity to improve Sean Dyche’s options.
Adding depth to a squad that was threadbare last season remains key, even with the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam, Jack Harrison and Iliman Ndiaye. Onana’s sale would mean five of the matchday squad in Everton’s final game of last season, at Arsenal, are no longer with the club. That includes academy graduate Lewis Warrington, while Andre Gomes missed that match but has also now left. Of those who have gone and found new clubs, this is where they have ended up.
Lewis Dobbin – Aston Villa
The first sale of the summer by Everton was that of Lewis Dobbin. The 21-year-old was kept with the first team last season and was consistently named on the bench for senior matches. His opportunities were limited, but he was still able to provide one of the stand out moments of last season when he scored the late second goal at home to Chelsea that confirmed Everton would seal a memorable win. His celebration ended with him being mobbed by teammates as Goodison celebrated the biggest landmark in the academy graduate’s career. Reflecting on that moment when sitting down with the ECHO at the end of last season, he said: “It was a bit of a blur. It was a natural reaction, a pour out of emotion. I didn’t really know what to do at the time. I had dreamt about it, but I had never really thought too much into the celebration because I knew if I was to score, I wouldn’t know what to do. My emotions just took over. It is my boyhood club. I have been here since the age of 11. To have that moment was a bit of relief. It showed the hard work can pay off, and hopefully I get many more.”
Dobbin entered the summer hoping to impress Dyche enough to get further opportunities, and the Villa approach came as a surprise. But after his £10m deal, he could now end up being reunited with Onana at his new home.
Ben Godfrey – Atalanta
Godfrey struggled for minutes in the first half of last season, his only Premier League start coming in the 2-0 win over Burnley in December – an appearance in which he made a sensational clearance to prevent Everton’s opponents from getting a foothold in the game. Heading into January he was unsure, therefore, where his future lay and became the subject of interest from clubs that included Atalanta. Everton refused to consider his departure, a decision that proved useful when he became a regular on the right of the defence amid an injury crisis in that area. Entering the final 12 months of his contract this summer, his future remained uncertain and the emergence of bids from Lyon and Atalanta last month paved the way for a move that helped Everton move into a position of confidence they would comply with the spending rules ahead of the June 30 deadline. The £11m deal with Atalanta that was ultimately agreed was a valuable one for Everton, particularly with Godfrey unlikely to have been first choice in any position next year.
Andy Lonergan – Wigan Athletic
Andy Lonergan did not make a competitive appearance for Everton but the veteran goalkeeper was a regular on the matchday bench and a key source of support to Jordan Pickford and the Blues’ goalkeeping unit.
Goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly explained the importance of Lonergan to the squad when the club visited Australia in November 2022. He told the ECHO the goalkeeper was “extremely valuable”. Kelly said: “You look at the level of training and the standard that he [Lonergan] sets and you have somebody who produces a standard of performance which drives levels up. It is maintaining a high-level of performance consistently through the goalkeeping department.
“He sets standards in training and he is an absolute diamond of a lad as well… I think people like Billy [Crellin] and Andy, they are part of that engine that gets overlooked, that gets unseen by people but which is a major part of how Jordan performs and how Asmir [Begovic] performs. I think that unit that we have got, the respect they have got between each other and the demands they have got – even with their service – they are there to work. It sounds functional but if we’re all kicking the ball over the bar or not putting it in the right place they do not get the work that is required to then go over to the team sessions and perform to the required standard.”
Lonergan’s contract expired this summer and the 40-year-old has now joined Wigan Athletic as a player/coach for the League One side.
Mackenzie Hunt – Fleetwood Town
Mackenzie Hunt did not make it onto the pitch under Dyche last season but was named on the bench on several occasions – including at the Emirates on the final day of the season. The left back departed the club when his contract expired at the end of last month. The 22-year-old has since joined League Two side Fleetwood Town, where he hopes to get his first real taste of senior football.
Katia Kouyate – Barrow
Katia Kouyate was one of the young players who impressed the most when he was taken out to the club’s pre-season training camp in Switzerland last summer. The 20-year-old forward scored in Everton’s win over Stade Nyonnais as they crossed into France for the first friendly of the pre-season.
After that goal, he said: “It’s a massive moment for me and my family. “It feels like all the years of hard work – my mum taking me to training week after week and things like that… It feels like a bit of a reward for all of that and hopefully I’ve made her proud.”
He went on to feature for Paul Tait’s Under-21s but left the club when his contract expired and has moved to League Two team Barrow, ending a stint at the Blues that began when he was just eight years old.