Paul Merson tells Sean Dyche to pay £10m for player who keeps Everton in Premier League

Paul Merson has warned Everton that they need to bring someone in on deadline day as they are risking relegation if they don’t.

The Toffees are in desperate need of reinforcements but so far have only depeleted their ranks by allowing Anthony Gordon to leave for Newcastle United in a £40m deal.

At the time of writing, Everton have suffered a transfer blow already today, as young winger Kamaldeen Sulemana has opted to move to relegation rivals Southampton instead of Goodison Park.

They’ve also been linked with a move for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher, a player they submitted a £40m bid for yesterday which was promptly rejected.

However, former Arsenal forward Merson believes that getting the Gallagher deal done could be the difference between playing in the Premier League or Championship next season.

“He’ll make things happen, he’ll close down and then that become infectious, if he closes down everyone follows and the crowd gets lifted. I would take a chance on him, not that you need to take a chance because he’s a good player - but I would take a chance on a loan deal.” Merson told Sky Sports News.

“You might have to pay £10m, but you have to gamble - you’re playing in the Championship next season or it costs you £10m, you have to weigh that up. At the moment, I think this team struggles to stay up.”

Gallagher’s all-action displays have been as a back-up player in Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter’s teams so far this season due to the breadth of talent already at the club.

However, Gallagher thrived on loan at Crystal Palace last season, and if anyone could bring energy into a midfield then it would be the 22-year-old.

Ranking highly for non-penalty xG, dribbles, tackles, blocks and shots total all point towards someone who needs to be afforded more minutes - if he can’t get it at Chelsea then a short-term move would see him get the opportunity to flourish and potentially keep a team up.

But, unfortunately for Everton, there aren’t concrete rumours of the club revisiting a move for the midfielder following their rejected bid on Monday.