{"id":34631,"date":"2025-12-23T08:34:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T13:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/23\/everton-could-offer-an-escape-route-for-manchesters-struggling-midfield-duo\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T08:34:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T13:34:49","slug":"everton-could-offer-an-escape-route-for-manchesters-struggling-midfield-duo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/23\/everton-could-offer-an-escape-route-for-manchesters-struggling-midfield-duo\/","title":{"rendered":"Everton could offer an escape route for Manchester&#8217;s struggling midfield duo"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/23\/everton-could-offer-an-escape-route-for-manchesters-struggling-midfield-duo\/#Everton_want_to_strengthen_their_midfield\" >Everton want to strengthen their midfield<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/12\/23\/everton-could-offer-an-escape-route-for-manchesters-struggling-midfield-duo\/#David_Moyes_has_identified_his_target\" >David Moyes has identified his target<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Everton are considering the possibility of adding a central midfielder in the January transfer window, with the club hoping to cover the temporary loss of Idrissa Gueye, who is currently away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Guay&#8217;s absence has stretched the Toffees&#8217; midfield options, leaving manager David Moyes to seek a short-term solution that can provide stability and Premier League experience at a crucial stage of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Gueye is an important figure for Everton, bringing his experience, defensive discipline and ability to win the ball in the middle of the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>His departure from AFCON has created a noticeable gap, particularly in games where Everton are required to protect leads or absorb pressure from stronger opponents.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Everton_want_to_strengthen_their_midfield\"><\/span>Everton want to strengthen their midfield<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Internal options exist, but Moyes is understood to prefer adding a midfielder who can replace him immediately without requiring a long adaptation period.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, Everton are open to the idea of \u200b\u200bsigning him on loan rather than spending big in January.<\/p>\n<p>According to Sky Sports, two potential options have emerged: Manchester United midfielder Koby Mainu and Manchester City star Kalvin Phillips.<\/p>\n<p>Both players fit the profile that Moyes seems to be looking for. He has Premier League experience, is very talented on the ball and is able to cope with the physical demands of English football.<\/p>\n<p>Mainu&#8217;s minutes at Man United have been limited, but Everton see him as a player who could benefit from regular appearances in a competitive environment.<\/p>\n<p>A loan move would be attractive to Everton as it would provide immediate quality while minimizing long-term risk.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"David_Moyes_has_identified_his_target\"><\/span>David Moyes has identified his target<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fbl-friendly-man-city-barcelona-414x276.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fbl-friendly-man-city-barcelona-630x420.jpg.webp 630w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fbl-friendly-man-city-barcelona-768x512.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fbl-friendly-man-city-barcelona-770x513.jpg.webp 770w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fbl-friendly-man-city-barcelona-900x600.jpg.webp 900w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fbl-friendly-man-city-barcelona-1200x800.jpg.webp 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 770px, (min-width:1020px) 630px, (min-width:900px) 880px, (min-width:680px) 97vw, (min-width:414px) 414px, 100vw\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kalvin Phillips playing for Manchester City (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA\/AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Phillips, on the other hand, brings a different kind of pedigree. The England international has struggled to find consistent appearances for Man City, but his experience at the highest level, both domestically and internationally, makes him an interesting option.<\/p>\n<p>Moyes is understood to have praised Phillips&#8217; positional discipline and passing range, and these traits could help Everton maintain their structure in Gueye&#8217;s absence.<\/p>\n<p>From Everton&#8217;s perspective, a January transfer will depend on availability and terms.<\/p>\n<p>United and City need to be convinced that a loan will benefit the player&#8217;s development, while Everton need to keep wages and squad balance manageable.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Report: Everton plan major defensive upgrade with Leeds United star <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everton are considering the possibility of adding a central midfielder in the January transfer window, with the club hoping to cover the temporary loss of Idrissa Gueye, who is currently away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations. Guay&#8217;s absence has stretched the Toffees&#8217; midfield options, leaving manager David Moyes to seek a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-34631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}