Why Everton's £50m deal may be the perfect transfer business

While Everton fans may be disappointed over the potential loss of Amadou Onana, the numbers tell us that they may be better off without him.

Aston Villa are close to completing a deal worth around £50m as Unai Emery’s side look to bolster their squad ahead of a season competing in the Champions League. Having already brought in Ross Barkley, Jaden Philogene, Ian Maatsen and Samuel Iling-Junior, among others, Onana is set to be a replacement for the departed Douglas Luiz.

Having performed admirably for Belgium at Euro 2024, he showed he was capable of performing in that lone defensive midfield role. Sean Dyche has certainly helped him make improvements defensively, with the manager stating last season to LiverpoolWorld at a press conference that he has ‘realised his defensive responsibility better’ and was ‘seeing the game quicker’.

And yet, the latest numbers from WhoScored have revealed that Everton performed better as a team without him. It sounds like a statement that may not ring true given the clear improvements he made during last season, but it is factually true.

In 23 starts, Everton won six, drew three, lost 14, scored 0.96 goals per game and conceded 1.74 goals per game. However, without him, they won more games (seven) drew more games (six) lost far less games (two) as well as finding the back of the net more often (1.2) and conceded less (0.73) - which is certainly an interesting set of numbers in light of his imminent exit. But how did Everton set up without him?

Dyche used three main combinations across the season: Onana/Gueye, Onana/Garner and Gueye/Garner. All three played 11 times together but the most successful pairing was Gueye/Garner who managed four wins, five draws and just two losses from their 11 games together. Interestingly, Onana/Garner also won four times, but lost three more games (five) and drew three less (two).

What stands out is how important Garner has been for Dyche and Everton. When starting in midfield, Garner managed six less losses than Onana, while also drawing four games. He too made clear improvements across the board and became a fan-favourite for his energy, work-rate and overall effort.

Whether Everton find a suitable move for a midfielder replacement this summer, they can take stock in the fact they can place their faith in Garner and Gueye who work well together for the start of the season. Of course, with Gueye in the final year of his deal and 34 years of age, he isn’t a long-term solution but he can be the placeholder in a period where he can help ease the transition of losing Onana this summer, while bedding in any new midfield signings - all while pocketing a healthy profit from Aston Villa.