No new signings, Gordon sold - can Dyche save Everton after disastrous January window?

The January transfer window was, unsurprisingly, another busy period for the Premier League, as the English top-flight reached new heights in its extraordinary spending on new signings. However, one club that didn’t get to take part in the spending spree was Everton. And it may end up costing them dearly in the coming relegation race. 

Less Gallagher, more Isco - Everton’s dreadful January window 

Indeed, while most of the Merseyside club’s main rivals at the bottom of the table were busy picking up new signings, Everton somehow managed to conclude the transfer period by selling one of their star players without managing to sign a replacement. Young winger Anthony Gordon was sold to Newcastle for €45.6 million, offering the side some money to reinvest elsewhere. But no new recruits ever materialised. 

That’s not to say that the club weren’t strongly linked with exciting new signings. But whether it be Arnaut Danjuma, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Felipe, Anthony Elanga or Conor Gallagher, rumours of fantastic new recruits all followed the same unfortunate fate: plenty of buzz, only for the story to slowly fall apart. Now, with the window firmly shut, the club are reportedly working on moves for free agents like Isco and André Ayew. But it remains to be seen whether these are also wide of the mark or, if signed, could even make much of a difference. 

Dyche’s record in the PL - is it good enough to avoid relegation? 

One new face at Goodison Park in January was Sean Dyche, who made the move to Everton as their new manager to replace the recently sacked Frank Lampard. And while the 51-year-old head coach may not be as exciting a signing as Gallagher or Danjuma, he may prove to be far more pivotal in keeping the club in the Premier League this season. 

Unlike Lampard, Dyche has a track record in the English top-flight of building teams that are hard to beat and slowly but surely claw their way up the league table and away from relegation. Which is why he not only helped Burnley earn promotion to the Premier League, but also managed to keep them in the top division for six seasons. But will he be able to work his magic at Everton between now and the end of the season? 

At this point in the season, Everton have 17 games remaining to save themselves from relegation. If we take Dyche’s average points per game record during his time with Burnley in the division, it would suggest that he could manage to pick up another 19 points between now and the end of the season. That would give Everton a final points tally of 35. Over the course of the last five Premier League seasons, only one club has managed to avoid relegation with that points tally.  

If Dyche can get Everton playing as well as his Burnley side in 2019/20, when he averaged 1.42 points per league game, it would mean the Merseyside club could potentially pick up another 24 points before the end of the season. That would put them on 39 points, which has proved to be enough to avoid relegation for each of the last five seasons. So, in other words, Dyche may have to be at his absolute best as Everton manage to help this historic club from dropping into the second tier of English football for the first time since 1951.