Kant

He would be the substitute of Jesus Navas (in the super-sub role). Spain sometimes send Navas to provide width and crossing, and this year it would make sense with Costa or Llorente in there. If Navas can't recover from his ankle injury, Deulofeu is an acceptable plan B. Not ready, but we don't have much more in terms of speed, dribble, crossing and width now that Jesé is injured. Besides, Spain play -more or less- the Barça tactic, Deulofeu should not need time to adapt.

With QPR officially promoted, will Remy be for sale? I assume 'Arry will want to keep him, although with this man you'll never know who's in and who's out.

I'd take Lescott and Barry... if they lower their wage demands. There are already four reliable CB, so I don't think Lescott is a priority. Barry would be useful for one more year if RM does not find another DM he likes in the market. I would not spend on RB, I believe Oviedo and Stones could easily play RB if needed, that's not such a drama. The weak positions in the starting XI are mainly in the forward line. Another CM if Barry is not lured, a striker and another winger. I know someone else already suggested to lure Redmond away from Norwich, the few games I've seen him play I liked him. On a side note, if RM hurries, he can try to get Morata (Real Madrid) on loan. He's an intriguing prospect, tall, quick, he lacks games although the few he's played he looked good. The lad already said he wants to be loaned next season and Real Sociedad are the only team trying to get him on loan. Considering the current situation, Everton can easily get him on loan, this way the club will have more time to buy a good striker and will not be forced to overpay in transfer negotiations. Plus I think he'd fit well, he's quite decent in the air but he's mostly quick and a striker that runs the channels.

Eto'o, Cole and Lampard can still play meaningful minutes for the right team. I only hope it's not us. We're well stocked at LB, AMC is Barkley's position and Eto'o still could do a job but he'd be too expensive in wages.

Vellios and Traoré total minutes played: 60 (aprox) I'm not worried about that particular losses if Koné can play. The lack of a starting striker (Lukaku) and a winger (Deulofeu) that featured several minutes are more of a concern to me. I don't hear any rumours about Everton. Is Martinez on holiday?

I really hope McCarthy doesn't leave. He's vital to the team, he's only 23, and his workrate is exceptional. He's a great fit for the current 4-2-3-1 system. I can understand why top teams would want him (I rate him over Arteta and Flamini, or anyone in Utd, for me he's one of the top DM already), but if Fellaini was sold for £28m, how much would be McCarthy worth? £45m?

Do you guys see Ledson ready to contribute next season? Each time I think about it, I convince myself a bit more: I would love James Milner in this team. He can play anywhere in the five midfield positions (CM, RM-LM, AMC), he's experienced and he adds a lot of squad depth as he can play in many positions.

I fully agree with you on this. Powerful or pacey players do not get as polished when they are young because they get away with it. Sometimes they even get away with it in the top level when they are young and quick (pacey players mainly). Then they become old and less pacey. At that stage, either they improve or... you have another wasteful Torres, with a poor first touch, giving the ball to the opposition constantly. Most of the times they don't improve (but it's not always the case, I have seen a few of them improve greatly their technical ability, but it's not the most common among pros, I guess it depends on the hunger and workrate of the player. i.e.: Eto'o was raw and technically terrible when he was very young, Ramos has improved is technique up to a good standard). I can't help feeling that if Lukaku develops a decent "power" game, jumping timely and positioning himself accurately in the box, and a decent first touch, he'll become a beast. Between Kenwyne Jones and Didier Drogba there is a huge leap, though.

Skysports - Transfer centre "Swansea City are back in for Standard Liege star Michy Batshuayi, according to reports in his native Belgium. The South Wales Evening Post writes that it could now be down to the player to decide if he wants to join Garry Monk’s side, having reportedly been the subject of a failed £2.5million bid last season."

"As much as it could be true..." Let's consider a few things: - PSG wants him. Even though he's bilingual French-Spanish, it's PSG. In Paris. - The lad has been in San Sebastian since he was 13, is well settled and the club backed him in his problems with France U21 squad. - I read somewhere €30M release clause. I would not want to start a debate comparing La Liga to the Barclays Premier League, so I will stick to club facts. 1- Real Sociedad do not want to sell for less than the release clause (they still have the €40M Real Madrid paid for Illarramendi). Would Everton splash that kind of money for a young, PL unproven Griezmann? 2- Last year, Real Sociedad were 4th and played Champions League football. I may be wrong, of course. This is my opinion and nothing more than that, but if he really wants to leave and climb up the football ladder, and has many teams interested in him as the rumorology says, I understand there are greener lands than this one. True that, release clause €60M (I just read it's so high to prevent Athletic Bilbao approaching the player). My "mental data" got outdated

In my opinion, teams should not need to pay anyone crazy wages. Or spend silly money to sign one player. Instead of short term solutions (spend 20M on one player), I would say the expenses should be focused on player development and the academies, the great forgotten in this modern era of football. Teams should spot talent, train it and let if flourish, i.e.: Seamus Coleman was acquired for 60,000, Raheem Sterling for 4M. Nevertheless, I can understand that managers require short term results or they get fired, and if they have money they go for the quick fix. Maybe if the Boards of Directors were patient, Managers could develop long term strategies instead of going to the market and spend money foolishly.

I enjoy much more watching teams like Everton (or Villarreal, or Dortmund, or Atletico) develop and see how far they can get, instead of watching powerhouses buy their way to the title. With those teams you see projects, players maturing and growing, needs being addressed carefully and youngsters given a fair chance. I hate three things about the rich teams: 1) They rarely give opportunities to local lads/young players (Barcelona has been the exception, but now is returning to old habits) 2) They wreck the careers of the promising players. How many promising young players have been bought only to rot in the reserves? 3) They all consider themselves title contenders and if they don't win it's a failure. There can't be more than one winner and most of the times the team need time to gel. Solution? Sack the manager. Plus, they tend to be arrogant. I would say a fair amount to invest, 10 to 20 million should be enough for a team to cover its needs.

If the club decide to buy him, does he come with his own treatment table as well?

Not realistic. Iñigo Martinez has a release fee around €30M, he's highly regarded and Barcelona already enquired about him. Griezmann is even less realistic. He would not want Everton and Everton can not afford him. Duncan Ferguson might have been scouting Ruben Pardo, 19, CM. €10M release fee and already quite established into the team, a player that Roberto Martinez could develop greatly.

Deulofeu will not play for Everton next season. He will be back to FC Barcelona, the club just announced. The new Barça coach, Luis Enrique, managed him previously in Barcelona B and he likes him. There is an official announcement in the website of FC Barcelona, but only in Catalan. So, now it's official, should RM start the raid for Adam Johnson? (I really wish they realise in pre-season that they do not need him, though...)

I'm with Cotto on McGeady so far. I'm not entirely convinced by him, I see him as a gifted player with consistency issues. Quick feet are always a valuable asset, but to me he has shown nothing more. No end product, no goals, no meaningful contribution. We'll see how he fares with a full preseason, but RM picked a poor Deulofeu to start in his place, which is not a good sign. I'll be glad to be proven wrong, of course. I can see he has all the tools, but I'm not so sure he knows how to deploy them effectively.

I can't see if when he did not play for Cluj (44 in 3 seasons) he was injured, and I can't open his transfermarkt page where theoretically they keep record of his injuries. For Anzhi (29 in one year and a half) and Kuban (38 in one year) he had a normal amount of games played.

He would not be a starter, and I feel he's fed up of the bench. Only Everton could guarantee him reasonable playtime: Liverpool have to fit Sturridge-Suarez-Sterling-Coutinho-Gerrard-Hendo in the lineup, and a) Milner is not better than any of them and would he want to become a sub? (or a defender? ) Spurs are shambles, and they have several players plus the ones they will purchase. They do not offer stability, and if I were Milner I would recall the experiences of Lamela and Soldado, plus Lennon and Townsend to play RW. United do not seem interested. If I were him I would go to Everton.

I have to say I enjoyed your discussion guys. I still love McCarthy, the MC position is the base of any team, it requires lots of tactical knowledge and for me it also has an influence on the future sucess of the man as a manager (Ancelotti, Simeone, Guardiola, Martinez...even Benitez and Mourinho were midfielders!) The truth is Traoré has only had a hamstring injured with a setback (rushed too soon, perhaps?). The guy is 6'6', he may need more time to heal than others if he is explosive and physical. Does anyone know if he is a permacrocked or is just a one-off? That would be the deal-breaker for me. I can stand one bad injury period, but I wouldn't want another player permanently injured.

Do Everton and Newcastle share scouts? Every time I see Everton linked to someone, Newcastle is interested too. Lazy journalism, perhaps?

So far, the few games I've seen him play he looks like a 17 year old Micah Richards: error prone and with poor positioning sense. He is a beast, and he's only 17 and playing with Ligue 1 players, it's only natural his flaws are exposed but he is very strong in the tackle and in the air. He has time to improve, the tools are there.

Why would John go there? They have established defenders like Terry, Ivanovic and Cahill already, plus promising youngsters like Aké, Chalobah, Kalas.

I like the chap, he's a workhorse and he's highly rated. Plus, Rayo Vallecano play exciting attacking football with poor players and some incredible mistakes by the defenders trying to play the ball (a la RM in Wigan). Atletico Madrid are weak in the CM, Tiago is 33, Gabi is 32, Mario Suarez has had a dip in form recently and Guilavogui is on-loan in a French team and he is surplus to requirements. He could be needed in Madrid. At least I would suggest to Roberto: try to buy him. He should be affordable and he would be a nice investment. €10M should be enough.

Yes, big yes. Experienced player on top of his game, a true squad player but in title contenders. He would be a starter, he can fill in most gaps, tireless worker and underrated technical ability. He's not great at dribbling past players, but that's the job of McGeady, Mirallas and Deulofeu. I have read in Sky Sports that City plan a clearout of the English players (Lescott, Rodwell, Barry, Sinclair, Richards, Milner...). I would almost take them all on decent wages, and I imagine RM doing wonders with them. Who would you take? I was sceptic over those fringe England players at City but with Barry I was proven wrong by RM. - Lescott is already a familiar face. - Rodwell still has the potential to be a great player if he stays injury free and he's given a true chance - Richards is a beast, he needs proper tactical and technical training, but he reminds me to Sakho. - Sinclair, however, would not be up to Everton standards IMO, we can do better.

My two cents: Saul Ñiguez - Yes Rafinha - Not available (he will be back, Barça's next coach is Luis Enrique, Celta's current coach...where Rafinha is loaned) Baptistao - Not good enough for relegated Real Betis. Thanks, but no thanks. Carles Gil - Psché :S