Marco Silva took a sideswipe at his predecessor Sam Allardyce, when he insisted his pricey new signings are under no pressure from their fee.
The Everton boss hinted he won’t throw in £29m capture Moise Kean, or £35m Alex Iwobi for their full debuts against Watford on Saturday, despite the expectation generated by their big-money status.
And Silva cheekily suggested, when asked about Kean: “His price? Cenk Tosun was really expensive also eh?”
It was Allardyce who paid an eye-watering £27m for Tosun, a relatively unknown striker from Besiktas, who has failed to live up to the puzzling price tag.
Kean has pedigree with Juventus and Italy, and some suggest his fee could prove to be a bargain, but Silva says the fans may have to wait to see him and the other summer captures, despite their expectation.
“It doesn’t mean they will start, not just Moise and JP (Gbamin), but Alex (Iwobi), and (Djibril) Sidibe too,” the manager added.
“They have had only 5-6 training sessions and it is normal they will need to know more. They are in good condition, but they will improve.”
Silva has some injury worries with a doubt over midfielder Andre Gomes and Morgan Schneiderlin suspended, and he must choose between Gbamin, who struggled as a sub last week, and Tom Davies.
