Leyton Orient plotting Everton transfer raid | OneFootball

Richie Wellens is reportedly looking to strengthen his backline.

Everton defender Reece Welch is reported to be a potential target for Leyton Orient in the closing stages of the summer transfer window.

After consolidating their position in the third tier last season, the O's have had a tough start to this campaign. Their opening two fixtures have come against two of the most highly rated teams in the division - Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic - and they are yet to pick up any points.

They have been by no means blown away in either contest, a 92nd minute goal from Luke Berry was all that separated Charlton and Orient on Saturday, but the two losses will give them a bit of impetus to go out and improve the side while they have time to.

In order to do so, they are said to be looking at the Premier League loan market.

Leyton Orient target Everton's Reece Welch

The 20-year-old centre-back has been reported by Football Insider to be a target of the O's.

The online football outlet had previously said that Everton are happy to let him go out on loan this summer, after a half-season spell with Forest Green Rovers in League Two last time out.

Teams from the Championship as well as the top division in the Netherlands are said to have also registered their interest in Welch, but Leyton believe they have a good chance of getting their key target, as per Football Insider.

Talks over a temporary spell away from Goodison Park are expected to advance between now and the transfer deadline at the end of August, with the hope on the Toffees side being that he can one day emerge as a first-team option for them.

Welch's spell with Forest Green in the first half of the 2023/24 season, in which they were relegated to the National League, saw him play in 17 league games and start 12 of them.

He is very well thought of by those on Merseyside, and he displayed his defensive fortitude while with Rovers, winning 64% of his duels on average, as per Sofascore.

Even though he was only to keep two clean sheets while out on loan, Wellens was obviously impressed by what he was able to display in that dysfunctional side.

Leyton Orient are making strong use of the loan market

Already in this window, over half of Orient's seven summer signings have been temporary ones, the most recent being the addition of Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Jamie Donley.

With the location that they are in, the O's are surrounded by big clubs with strong academies whose players need to get minutes in order to develop; minutes that likely won't come in the first team.

They are right to try and capitalise on this advantage that they have of being local to many top youth setups, because they can easily obtain some of the best young talents in the country.

It does have its risks - bringing in young players with little or no EFL experience is always like a box of chocolates, to quote Forrest Gump. But it's obviously a ploy that they feel will benefit them.