Everton transfer news, rumours, gossip and speculation including the latest on Demarai Gray’s Everton future, injury news and Sean Dyche’s reaction to the summer window
Hello and welcome to our Everton FC liveblog for Monday, September 4.
Everton are off the mark in the Premier League after four games, registering their first point of the season with a battling 2-2 draw at Sheffield United on Saturday.
But the Toffees have a transfer dilemma emerging after Demarai Gray seemingly hit out at his position at Everton amid interest in him from Saudi Arabia. We'll have all the latest news on his future, plus any updates on injuries, right here.
Get involved and send your thoughts to @LivEchoEFC and don't forget to subscribe to our FREE Everton FC newsletter, our YouTube channel and listen to our Royal Blue Podcast – with all your favourite ECHO regulars including Joe Thomas, Chris Beesley, Connor O'Neill and Gav Buckland.
Send us your thoughts and views on Everton's season by sending us a letter.
The Liverpool ECHO has launched its own WhatsApp community to bring you the very latest Everton transfer news and top stories direct to your phone. By joining our WhatsApp community, you will receive breaking Blues news and top stories straight to your phone. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Community' and you're in.
If you are using your computer, tablet or an additional phone you can use your mobile phone to join the group below. Just scan your camera over the QR code and open the link. For more information, click here.
Keep tabs on the latest news, views and Everton FC transfer rumours below.
It was a frustrating game really, again, but the positives are obviously we got our first goals and our first point this season.
But, all in all, in terms of the season so far in my column I've been asking for better levels from this bunch of players and Sean Dyche, we do well in parts but the basic play is letting us down in moments and it happened again on Saturday.
I thought we were the better side but our mentality, our confidence, is really, really low right now and when we get the goal we just seem to sit back as a team. We lost that cutting edge of closing down and started being very passive.
For many seasons we've been guilty of doing that but so far this season it has cost us.
Read the full column from Michael Ball here.
More academy players were not named on Everton’s bench at Sheffield United because of concerns their development was being stunted by fringe-work with the first team.
An injury crisis, coupled with a summer in which a glut of senior and academy players have left the club, has left Sean Dyche with limited options for his matchday squads so far this season.
That was particularly clear on Saturday – the day after three players involved across the opening Premier League games of the season departed in transfer deadline day deals.
Dyche named just seven players on the bench for the trip to Sheffield United. That included two goalkeepers, the academy midfielder Tyler Onyango, and Dwight McNeil – who Dyche acknowledged was brought back from injury earlier than normal to help strengthen the squad.
Joe Thomas has the full story here.
French side Lyon 'activated' a move for Everton winger Demarai Gray on deadline day but were unable to get a deal over the line.
That's according to French publication L’Equipe, who are reporting that as well as failing for a move for Gray, the Ligue 1 side also failed in a bid to sign Tottenham’s Bryan Gil and Chelsea youngster Diego Moreira.
The report goes on to claim that deals for both Gray and Gill were explored throughout the final day of the window but ‘all fell through’ for financial or timing reasons.
Everton reportedly rejected a deadline day bid from Al Ettifaq for Demarai Gray.
Football Insider have claimed that the Blues rebuffed a £7.5m approach from the Saudi Pro League for the Jamaican international.
Thomas Partey is set to be missing for Arsenal when Mikel Arteta's men make the trip to Goodison Park after the international break.
The Ghanaian missed out on Sunday's meeting with Manchester United and, according to the Daily Mail, is now expected to be sidelined until after the October international break.
Jamaica manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has issued an update on the fitness of Demarai Gray, claiming he is unsure if the Everton winger will feature in their upcoming games during the international break.
The Reggae Boyz will take on Honduras and Haiti in CONCAF Nations League fixtures, though it remains to be seen if Gray will feature having failed to feature in any of the Blues' fixtures so far this season.
Providing the latest on the 27-year-old, Hallgrímsson told Jamaica Gleaner: “We will have to evaluate his fitness. We will do some tests and individual sessions and look at his fitness and then we will make our decision.
"It is always important for players to play all matches as much as possible at a high level. He is working and training really hard, and he is very motivated.”
Jarrad Banthwaite has insisted Everton will be ready to "start afresh" once Sean Dyche's side return to action after the international break.
The Blues host Arsenal in their first game back after the international football and will be looking to produce a repeat performance of their victory over the Gunners achieved in Sean Dyche's first game as manager earlier this year.
Addressing what he expects from the team on the back of Saturday's 2-2 draw with Sheffield United, Branthwaite told evertontv:
We’ve got things we can learn from to develop us. That’s what we’ll do and we’ll come back after the international break ready to go again.
We can start afresh but we also need to learn from the first four games, the mistakes that have been made and switching off which has cost us goals and points. We created so many chances in our two home games, we didn’t score, and we switched off for one moment and the opposition scored. That shows the quality in this league. We can take what has happened in those four games, develop on some things and go again.”
Five players arrived through the doors at Goodison Park during the summer transfer window, with Ashley Young, Arnaut Danjuma, Youssef Chermiti, Jack Harrison and Beto all being acquired.
Everton did bid farewell to a number of individuals, including Tom Cannnon, Alex Iwobi, Neal Maupay and Jean-Philippe Gbamin on deadine day.
Have your say on how the window as a whole, below.
Jordan Pickford has been named in Garth Crooks' BBC Sport Team of the Week after his last-minute heroics at Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.
The Everton goalkeeper produced a stunning double save at the death to ensure Everton would take home a share of the spoils and was a consistent performer throughout the match, regardless of an unfortunate own goal.
Reacting to this display from the Blues' shot-stopper, Crooks wrote: "I think the embrace between Everton keeper Pickford and Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie at the end of this extraordinary match said it all. This game was full on from start to finish, but it was the double stop by Pickford to deny McBurnie at the end which gave the Toffees a much-needed point.
"If Everton are going to survive this season then they can't afford to concede two goals, especially when they score two away from home. Their problem hasn't been so much their poor finishing but their diabolical defending. They haven't been capable of keeping one clean sheet in four Premier League outings and it was Pickford's exploits that saved them on this occasion."
Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq will reportedly abandon a move for Demarai Gray unless Everton today sanction a deal for the winger.
Gray took to social media yesterday afternoon expressing his frustration over his current situation, having come close to leaving the Blues during the summer transfer window.
A latest report from talkSPORT on his future has claimed Al-Ettifar will turn their attention to Wolves' Daniel Podence today, unless Everton agree to sell the Jamaica international.
Saudi sides have until September 7 to register new signings.
Want the latest EFC transfer updates directly to your phone?
By joining our Whatsapp community, you will receive breaking Blues news and top stories as they happen. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Community' and you're in.
If you are using your computer, tablet or an additional phone you can use your mobile phone to join the group below. Just scan your camera over the QR code and open the link.
No one will be able to see your personal information in the community and you will only receive messages from the Liverpool ECHO team. We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily.
If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group'.
Hello, good morning and welcome to our EFC blog. It's Monday and it's slightly better than the three previous Mondays on account of Everton picking up their first point of the season.
It was a battling one at Sheffield United, so there's still plenty of work to be done.
There's a bit of drama in the background though, with Demarai Gray, who Sean Dyche had hoped to reintergrate into his squad, appearing to aim a dig at his boss on Instagram.
We'll have all the latest on that and more. In the meantime, here are our top stories.