Rafa Benitez has been in the Everton job for just over two days but he already has some big decisions to make.
He is faced with the potential departure of James Rodriguez, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin is also attracting interest from elsewhere.
What’s the word?
One of the most important decisions for the club this summer will be determining what happens with Moise Kean. The Italian striker spent last term on loan at PSG and he could head back to Ligue 1 for the upcoming season.
That’s the word of transfer guru Fabrizio Romano who took to Twitter on Thursday evening to report: “Paris Saint-Germain want Moise Kean back and it’s only loan negotiation with buy option included, as reported one month ago. NO permanent deal bid. Kean wants to join PSG. Leonardo is now waiting for Everton answer - it’s up to Rafa Benitez.”
Huge blunder
If Benitez sanctions a loan move for the young forward, it would be a mighty clanger within his first few days of being in the job.
If Everton are going to shift Kean on, they should be looking for a permanent move. Otherwise, they may as well give him another chance in the first team squad next season.
The Toffees were initially looking for a fee of £40m in order to relinquish him this summer, so to let him leave with only an option to buy feels like a rather peculiar decision. After all, this is the mighty PSG with which they’re dealing; they are not cash-strapped by any means.
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It’s a decision which has left plenty of supporters baffled and bewildered by the thought process at Goodison Park.
Reacting to the news on social media, one Everton fan said the club had dealt with Kean’s situation “absolutely terribly.” Another supporter claimed that the Toffees were becoming “easy to manipulate” in the transfer market, while a further individual fumed that it was an “absolute joke.”
You can certainly understand such anger. Kean had a breathtaking season in 2020/21, reviving his career after a disappointing first campaign in Merseyside.
After signing for Everton for £29m, he scored just four goals in 37 appearances before moving to France on a temporary basis. Since joining the Parisians, he lit up Ligue 1 and starred in Europe - he found the net on 17 occasions in PSG colours, even scoring against Barcelona.
At the age of 21, the Italy international has a very high ceiling. If Everton aren’t going to give him another opportunity, they may as well cash in on him now in order to fund a summer rebuild.
It would be a blunder from Benitez to agree to another loan move for the striker.