Marco Silva has confirmed Everton are unlikely to spend any money in the current transfer window unless they sell a player first, but says he is happy enough to work with the present squad.
“We have our goals for the season and they won’t change whether we sign players or not,” the Everton manager said. “We don’t have the financial conditions to go into the market at the moment, I have to find different solutions. We will only be using the market if we sell one of our players, but that doesn’t mean I am looking to sell to raise funds.
“It is not a frustrating situation because I am happy with the squad. This is not a moment to be naming players or transfer targets; we have to work with the players we already have. My aim is to put the best XI on the pitch for each match.”
Oumar Niasse has not yet joined Cardiff but even if that move does go through in the next couple of weeks it is anticipated to be a loan until the end of the season. Most Everton supporters would like to see a striker brought in – the wait to properly replace Romelu Lukaku goes on – though Silva has indicated he plans to continue with the 21-year-old Richarlison in the striking role for the time being.
“He can play out wide or as a striker, and he can play up front on his own or with Dominic Calvert-Lewin,” Silva said. “We have attacking options and we can still improve. A lot of things have changed at this club in a relatively short space of time. There have been four new managers, for a start, and last season 12 new players were signed. That’s quite a lot of change, it is bound to take time for things to settle down and for the team to gel.”
