By Gabriel Agbonlahor

3rd Feb, 2023 | 12:02pm

Agbonlahor claims Everton have 'accepted the inevitable' after £28.5m transfer twist

Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed Everton may have “accepted the inevitable” after failing to make a January signing.

The former Aston Villa striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, highlighted the “big signings” made by the Toffees’ relegation rivals in the winter window.

Everton allowed winger Anthony Gordon to depart for a reported £45million fee in January but couldn’t give new manager Sean Dyche any signings of his own.

Conversely, struggling Southampton and Bournemouth had some of the biggest winter outlays in the Premier League as they look to stave off the threat of the drop.

As per Transfermarkt, Everton are one of two current top-flight sides to make money in the transfer market over the past two seasons – having raked in a net profit of £28.5million since the summer of 2021.

Sean Dyche’s side are 19th in the Premier League after 20 games – but could climb out of the drop zone with a win against Arsenal on Saturday (4 February).

Agbonlahor told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “I think they are in big trouble.

“If you’re second bottom and not making any signings, then it feels like you’re accepting the inevitable.

“Southampton, Wolves, Bournemouth, Leeds – they all made big signings in the window.

“They wanted to give themselves the best chance of staying up.

“Do Everton have money issues? There must be a really good reason why they didn’t bring anyone in.”

Everton’s main struggle this season has been a lack of potency in front of goal – with Demerai Gray currently their top scorer with just five strikes.

As quoted by The Guardian (2 February), Dyche has asked disgruntled Toffees fans to “park” their anger over the lack of business and back the Merseysiders.

In other news, pundit verdict on Everton sacking Sean Dyche this summer – “it’s a worry”.