Everton supporters will be excited about the Premier League season ahead as top-flight football finally comes to the Toffees’ new home in the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
They will have to wait that little bit longer for the action to start on their home patch, however, as Elland Road will be the first ground ticked off this season when David Moyes’ men face off against the stern prospect of a newly promoted Leeds United side.
Brand new recruit Adam Aznou could well have the privilege of making his Premier League debut for the Merseyside outfit in West Yorkshire, with more new signings surely in the pipeline to join the up-and-coming defender, before September’s abrupt cut-off.
Everton pushing to sign free agent star
The Toffees are four signings down this summer already, with promising French attacker Thierno Barry the pick of the bunch for a sturdy £27m.
However, Moyes and Co. are likely to push on with more fresh additions, with Douglas Luiz one high-profile name on their radar to boost their options in central midfield.
Everton aren’t just looking at the ex-Aston Villa star in isolation to bolster their numbers centrally, however, with GIVEMESPORT revealing that Josh Brownhill is also on their agenda.
Indeed, that exclusive report from GIVEMESPORT has highlighted that both Leeds and Everton are locked into a tussle to win the free agent’s services, after the skilful Englishman allowed his Burnley contract to run down.
However, it could be a tall order to win the former Clarets captain’s services, owing to a further development that Toronto FC have offered a bumper £100k-per-week deal to the 29-year-old.
Still, the report states that Everton are pushing to try and convince Brownhill to remain put on English shores, with the potential here for the Manchester-born midfielder to become Moyes’ next Leon Osman in offering plenty of goals and assists in key moments.
How Brownhill could become Moyes’ next Osman
After all, much like Brownhill would arrive on the scene for nothing, Osman cost Everton zilch when he emerged up the Merseyside ranks as a homegrown gem.
Amazingly, by the close of his long-winded Everton journey, Osman would have 58 goals and 36 assists next to his name from 433 appearances, with his output not letting up right until his retirement in 2016.
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Osman’s numbers for Everton vs Brownhill’s career numbers |
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|---|---|---|
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Stat |
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Games played |
433 |
462 |
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Goals scored |
58 |
58 |
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Assists |
36 |
40 |
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Sourced by Transfermarkt |
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Indeed, just three years before hanging up his boots, Osman – who was donning the Toffees armband on the day – would rifle home a stunning effort against eventual title-winners Manchester City.
Brownhill provided a similar class to proceedings at Turf Moor last season when helping Scott Parker’s men clinch a triumphant promotion back up to the Premier League, as seen in him collecting a mammoth 18 goals and six assists across 42 second-tier outings.
It will just be up to the experienced midfielder to translate this blistering Burnley form to the top-flight, but there are promising signs already that he can perform at the daunting level.
From 111 appearances so far in the difficult division, the “brilliant” midfielder – as he was glowingly labelled by Parker – has six goals and six assists next to his name, with lots more hopefully heading his way when surrounded by better quality teammates at Everton, over consistent relegation dog-fights hitting him in the face.
The hope will just be that Brownhill can be that new Osman-like spark for Moyes to rely upon, having also once been dubbed a “crucial” part of the Turf Moor jigsaw under ex-Burnley boss Vincent Kompany.
Toronto’s excessive offer might well make this deal tricky to pull off, but the 29-year-old could favour a move to Merseyside over an MLS switch, knowing he could be as loved as Osman down the line.
