2 players from each relegated club Everton should target | OneFootball

The promotion and relegation system in England always creates an interesting situation at the end of each season heading into the summer transfer window.

Not every player on relegated sides is a lesser-than talent, and with the significant dip in finances that most Championship-level clubs can afford, fire sales usually come with the drop.

Often, this comes in the form of the class of the Premier League shoring up their squads with talented players from those relegated sides at cut rates. But it doesn't mean that mid-table clubs like Everton can't and shouldn't get involved.

After all, Everton have a lot of work to do with all the holes in the squad as they head into next season.

With that in mind, here are two players from each relegated side that Everton should be going after once the summer window opens at the end of the season.

Ipswich Town

CF Liam Delap

We'll begin with the player that most teams in the Premier League will be going after, Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap.

The England international burst into the top flight this season, leading the Fightin' Ed Sheeran's with 12 goals, with the next nearest scorer bagging just four (all the more impressive considering that's roughly 36% of Ipswich's goals so far).

Per FBref, his 0.38 non-penalty goals per 90 puts him in the 53rd percentile across Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League, and Europa League, a fairly stunning output.

And he's already shown he can do it at the highest level on a team that didn't provide him much, as he was also third in the squad in total shot-created actions.

And he's only 22, so he's got plenty of room to continue to grow.

Again, Delap is going to be the prize of the relegation bidding wars, so Everton are unlikely to get him, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't be in the mix.

FW/CAM Omari Hutchinson

It's strange to go after two attacking players from a side that has managed just 33 goals in 33 matches so far, but to be fair, Everton sit just above the relegation-bound side with 34, so maybe there isn't room for snobbery here.

Omari Hutchinson is another young player (he'll be 22 in late October) who acquitted himself nicely in his first season in the Premier League and he is the type of attacking option that Everton could use to add depth to their squad.

Take a look at Hutchinson's player comparison chart from FBref and you get a sense of why he'd fit. Notable names atop the list: Iliman Ndiaye and Abdoulaye Doucoure, followed by Jack Harrison.

And with Doucoure's Everton future in doubt and Harrison likely headed back to Leeds or elsewhere, David Moyes could add another creative piece to his attacking front alongside Ndiaye and Beto for the future.

Like Ndiaye, Hutchinson is a skilled dribbler who excels at carrying the ball down the pitch. But he's also an excellent passer who will find space for others to score.

His market will be interesting to watch, but if Harrison stays at Leeds or is sold and the club opt to not bring Doucoure back, he'd fit in nicely alonside Ndiaye, Beto, and (hopefully) Charly Alcaraz in the forward line.

Leicester City

CAM Stephy Mavididi

There is a bit of overlap on some of these players, and Leicester's Stephy Mavididi is one where he and Hutchinson would be redundant.

That said, the attacker would fit if Hutchinson proves too costly or opts to sign elsewhere, although Mavididi is an older player (he'll be 27 at the end of May), so it would be less an investment and more a way to add to the depth.

Like Hutchinson, FBref sees a lot of comparisons between Mavididi and Ndiaye, although the former is even more of a progressive dribbler than the latter (in 1615 minutes, Mavididi has 91 progressive carries while Ndiaye has 78 in just over 2100 minutes).

The England international hasn't been a consistent starter for Leicester this season, so maybe he would entertain a similiar role with Everton.

If his market value holds, then that could be a good bit of business for Everton.

AM Bilal El Khannouss

Again, these players are often going to be dependent on one another, so including both Mavididi and his teammate Bilal El Khannouss doesn't mean both should be added, just that both are potential targets.

El Khannouss is quite similiar to Hutchinson as well, and Aboulaye Doucoure also appears on his FBref comparison chart.

The major difference here will be cost (El Khannouss figures to be a pricier option), since the Morocco international will turn 21 in a few weeks, with his potential resale value adding to his price tag.

Neither are prolific scorers, but El Khannouss can pass the ball very effectively (he's racked up 112 progressive passes and counting so far this season), something that Everton could use in its midfield.

Southampton

MF Kamaldeen Sulemana

Stop me if you've heard this one, but here's another attacking midfielder in Kamaldeen Sulemana, albeit one who spends more of his time on the wings, making him among the more ideal targets on this list.

Sulemana is another young player (he just turned 23 in February) who compares favorably to Hutchinson and Ndiaye, especially as a carrier of the ball. According to FBref, his progressive carries per 90 rank him in the 77th percentile while his successful take-ons are in the 90th.

The Ghana international doesn't have a lot of top flight experience (just over 2000 minutes in two seasons), although he did play over 1000 minutes in a season at Rennes in Ligue 1 when he was just 19.

His price tag appears in a good place, and he won't likely be counted on to start immediately, but he fills a position that Everton will be weak in, with players like Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom likely gone after this campaign.

CF Cameron Archer

Striker is another place where Everton are likely to be thin heading into the 2025/26 season.

Beto and Yousef Chermiti are the only strikers on the books, with the former the most experienced and the latter just needing game time. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is all but out the door and the jury is still out on what Everton will do about Armando Broja.

They'll need depth one way or another, so why not find another young talent who has shown he can be a useful player in the Premier League? Enter Cameron Archer.

Now, off the top, the numbers don't strike a lot of fear in opposing clubs: just one goal this year with an xG of 5.1 suggests poor finishing with a 2.09 shots per 90. Some of this could be that Southampton were not a good attacking team and it would be interesting to see Archer on a better side.

Are Everton capable of providing that? Maybe not presently, but there's work to do.

Archer is young (he turned 23 in December) and he's had better output in similar minutes in other seasons, and he did score three goals in three EFL matches for Southampton, even if his PL numbers were low.

If you're counting on him to be your top scorer, then look elsewhere, but as a depth guy who can provide another option, Cameron Archer might be useful.

Bonus: RB Kyle Walker-Peters

Even though Kyle Walker-Peters is a bit older (recently 28), he's still a solid right back who would fill a need that Everton have had for many seasons running.

But the former Tottenham man has a ton of Premier League experience and is both an excellent passer and carrier of the ball.

He's listed here as a bonus player for one reason: he's out of contract after this season and so he'll be free to join any team he wishes without having to be sold.

He'll probably have plenty of suitors, but with Everton's right back situation being what it is (Jake O'Brien has been excellent, but he's a centerback who is out of position and is probably going to start back at his favored spot next season), they should do whatever it takes to bring him in.