‘Feels like a rather big price’ – Update emerges concerning Villa, Spurs and Everton’s pursuit of EFL player: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Everton are reportedly ready to spend up to £24 million to win the race for Stoke defender Harry Souttar.

Aston Villa and Tottenham have both been linked with the defender already, with Stoke said to be expecting bids in the January window.

According to Fichajes.net, the Toffees are ready to spend up to £24 million to sign Souttar.

But is he worth it? And should the Potters look to cash in?

We quizzed our FLW writers…

Marcus Ally

With three and a half years left on his contract, Harry Souttar is worth more than £24 million. We all know that Everton can afford to splash out more than that even after a conservative summer transfer window.

At 23, there is still plenty of development ahead for Souttar and with the Potters’ promotion ambitions there is no way they should be cashing in come the turn of the year. Souttar signed this long-term contract, he has made his bed now so let him lie in it.

The Australian will know a drop-off in form could deter Premier League interest and so will maintain motivation levels until the end of the season. Reassess in the summer but Stoke can demand more than £24 million for sure.

Chris Gallagher

This is a tough one but Stoke shouldn’t sell in January.

Firstly, you have to say that the hype and excitement around Souttar is totally justified because he is a young defender who has the ability to play at the highest level. His height means he can dominate strikers, whilst he is also capable in possession and is good in one-v-ones, so that valuation is right.

But, even though they’ve fallen off in recent weeks, you would expect Stoke to be in the mix for a play-off place come January at least, and they can’t really afford to lose Souttar in the New Year. We all know that promotion to the Premier League is worth a lot more than £24m, and selling the defender in the next window significantly decreases their chances of going up.

So, it will be tough, but Stoke should resist an offer of £24m in January because I think that sort of money for Souttar will still be on the table in the summer. If they fail to go up, then realistically you have to accept he will go and rebuild the squad. But, with promotion a possibility, Souttar can’t go in the winter window unless a truly ridiculous offer is put forward.

Toby Wilding

This feels like a rather big price for Everton to pay for Souttar in January.

Admittedly, Souttar has emerged an excellent defender for Stoke in the past couple of seasons, and there is no doubt that he has a great deal of potential.

The fact is though, he is still untested as yet in the Premier League, meaning this could be something of a risk for Everton to pay this amount, particularly if they are going to be using him regularly immediately in the top-flight when there could be more established options out there for the Toffees to target.

It would also mean that is Souttar was not to live up to expectations in the Premier League to begin with, it could make it hard for Everton to get a return on their investment, either from a footballing or financial perspective.

From a Stoke point of view, you, therefore, feel that they may be tempted to cash in on Souttar for that sort of fee, since it would provide them not only with funds to replace Souttar but possibly invest in other areas of their squad as well.