Wide areas

Obviously a lot of mixed opinions on the various wide player ins/outs that have been mooted. I don't see any of the options as being intrinsically wrong, they all can work for us as long as the team overall is built and set up the right way, and that's where I'm struggling with this. So far this season, we've looked much quicker and more threatening on the flanks than much of last season, despite the loss of Grealish who was (despite my reservations before he arrived) quite clearly excellent for us last season. He would still offer something we don't have, but, as others have said, with some downsides - slower on the counter, big financial cost, not a long term plan. For me, Grealish only looks like an upgrade on what we've seen so far this season IF he's paired with a full back who can overlap. We were watching Aznou v. Lille and saying how great he and Grealish would be as a pair. All last season Grealish was looking for Mykolenko to run past him when he stopped and looked up - it never happened and we'd see that slow jink before a cross into a packed box. Aznou was in that space every time and you could see how it would work in attack. Aznou was also responsible for the equaliser we conceded, and isn't going to see much game time if Mykolenko is fit because defensively he's far less secure. Grealish and Mykolenko works less well than George and Mykolenko IMHO even though I'd rather Grealish as being the superior player (currently, at least). On the other hand, if we lose Ndiaye, that's one less player who can get their foot on the ball and hold on to it under pressure - which we're already short on and which was an Achilles heel for us in terms of game management and seeing out results in our disastrous end to last season. So if you lose Ndiaye from the first team (and it has felt inevitable for some time), the need for what Grealish brings grows larger, but you're then talking about losing pace from both sides of the pitch. It would all make more sense if Grealish could play on the right with Rohl/Garner/Tete overlapping, but he doesn't and we look like we're swapping what was starting to look like a nicely balanced squad with some promising younger players, into an unbalanced, expensive team with key players who are probably post-peak and younger players likely to be casting eyes elsewhere, as this hardly screams 'ambitious outfit building for the future'. Amazing how quickly Everton can turn 'it feels promising, thing are moving slowly in the right direction at last' into another massive bin fire.