Leeds look to bring Delph back to Elland Road

The transfer window will get better if there's truth in the Daily Star story that Leeds want to pay us £5M for Delph. Besic is also expected to go soon.

Go!

Oh hell yes!

There's only one club stupid enough to pay £5M with his injury record and he's already at it.

I doubt he could play the Bielsa way. Far too slow.

Must be for medical research.

Next to Sigurdsson, he's the player I want to move on the most.

I'm confused... is Everton paying Leeds to take him or is Leeds paying Everton to keep him? Only joking!

Would be a great result if we could get Delph of the books.

His behaviour will suit Leeds. He's a scumbag and so are most of Leeds' fans. Hope it's true, good riddance.

Bye bye

He’s destined to score a screamer against us and have an injury free season! You know how it goes.

I can't be thinking of the same player as everyone else.I always rated Delph and am not prepared to slag off a guy because he's been injured or playing half-fit during his time with our club.

Having said that. As a club we have to cut the wage bill to enable us to bring players in that the manager wants. So, if anyone is interested in taking a punt on whoever Carlo doesn't see as first-team squad going forward I'd say good luck to both, take the money and move on.

Simply no need to vent the spleen at every leaving player just because we've not lived up to the mid-80s for so long.

Simply hasn't worked out for him. He never got going in a royal blue shirt.

Allways rated Delph. Good enough for Man City...

Shame really, maybe it's a short stay with us.

Who knows, but with his fitness record, I don’t see him going far as he’s a sick note and can’t play, as too slow, and not good enough, as much as he said he would be when he arrived, and not unexpected it’s not happened at EFC.

We could have really used a fit Delph this season. I reckon he'd have been our best midfielder. Though it's a low bar.

On his wages and with his injuries, a transfer would probably serve us well but I suspect it's just easy gossip and that he'll still be propping up our treatment table next season.

Martin 12, classy post, no need for some of the vitriol spouted on here.

Yes, he talked a good game, yes he was captured by the cameras being openly critical towards teammates when we were getting spanked and no he has not lived up to his own hype. However, to call him a scumbag for example is unnecessary.

As far as I am aware he at least came with the right intentions. If we got £3-5M for him I'd be over the moon, however, as he's on big money and we need to sell players just floating around.

Martin (12) clearly you've buried your head in the sand (and rightly so after this season!) and have not been paying attention to Delph's attitude on and off the pitch during his short stint with us to understand the "slagging off" from fans and "vent the spleen" you refer to above.

When he was at Leeds and we were linked with him and he went to Villa, my friend who supports them reckoned we had dodged a bullet. Shame it ricocheted twice over a number of years.

Take Sandro, Sigurdsson and Iwobi with you please!

One of the Nails in Silva's coffin.

Delph couldn't fill Gueye's shoes but filled the medical room most weeks.

We do need to get rid but we could say that about a lot of our players.

I'm okay with him going so long as we have replacements lined up – I would rather keep him as a squad player than lose him with no-one to step in (if he's fit of course). However, I think he will jump at the chance to join Leeds if they can match his wages.

Can we tempt Leeds with any more players with Premer League experience? We have got a few they could have but Bielsa is no pushover when making a judgement on who he wants, and who's realistically going to do a job for him.

When Delph signed for us, I thought we were getting the next Gareth Barry, we'd have been better off signing Cathy Barry...

(Be careful Googling her... :-D)

No spleen from me either -- it was just never going to work out for him here -- but I'd be happy to give him a ride over.

Taxi! (or, in his case... Ambulance!).

Leeds would be doing us a massive favour.

At Man City, he was surrounded by superstars, as such he had a specific role to perform, tidying up, which to be fair he did adequately well. It didn't require him to create that much, his game was all about breaking down the opposition's possession, accurately finding colleagues with precise early passes and letting them do the rest. If only he had delivered those qualities in a Royal Blue Jersey. Had he done so, we certainly wouldn't be so eager to see him go.

Early signs were promising. At last someone who could pass a ball. It didn't last. Perhaps we expected too much, simply because he'd been a City player schooled by Pep. Either way, he was soon exposed as another dismal failure.

At City, he was a mediocre player, elevated to performances above his standing, by following his manager's plan to the letter. At Everton, surrounded by lesser players to his former City colleagues and no Guardiola masterplan, his mediocrity was cruelly exposed.

My main criticism of Delph does not concern his footballing shortcomings. It is that it became perfectly obvious to me that he wasn't prepared to go the extra mile for us, the way he had for City. This was endorsed by his regular criticism of his team mates. Which attempted to divert and disguise his own inadequacies.

Please take him back, Leeds. The sooner the better.

He's going to Elland Road to teach them the basics of football, which apparently is slagging off your own fans on twitter, sitting on the treatment table for a year, and earning £100k a week while doing so.

It's a bit like Jack Wilshere at West Ham Utd. Walking a middle path here, I rated him at Aston Villa and Man City.

But the spat with fans on Twitter coupled with injuries, was never going to be a winning formula to get fans onside. From a wage and age perspective, it would be beneficial if he left.

Any player who walks into a new club and a few games later is calling all the other players shit while playing as bad himself is not wanted by me.

His arrogance surpasses his ability by a factor of 10 – let alone his injury record.

Good riddance; should never have been here.

Delph's reaction to the fans was unsightly, but at least it showed some form of reaction!! Wish Sigurdsson could be drawn out to show some form of fight or emotion !

Shame about Delph. His injuries (well noted by lots on here when he signed) prevented any real run. Hoped he would be like Barry, but to date hasn't had much impact.

The trio of Gbamin, Delph and Gomes in the midfield could have been decent if we could have got them all on the pitch together for any length of time.

If he goes for £5 million, then there's a bit more in the pot.

Why not £8M, which was quoted as a cut-price?

To be honest, I'd forgotten he was even in the squad.

I don't think him leaving will even cause a ripple. He is/was a complete non-factor with us. Another “great purchase”, that became “a lame duck”.

Seems to happen to Everton fairly often.

On another thread, I had listed my "Outs" and it included about 10 players, but not Delph. If fit, (big IF), he could be a useful squad player and is quite versatile.

He played left-back for a significant part of a season when Man City won the league title, so he might have filled that position as back-up left-back if (god forbid) Digne were to be injured/unavailable.

Having said that, I have no problem with getting 1 more ageing, high paid, non-performing player out of Everton, if it means that it would help Carlo in his squad rebuilding process.

Jim @ 31,

Sigurdsson is an Icelander – supposedly unemotional. Mind you, my wife and I were in Iceland last September and they know how to enjoy themselves and frankly, on the whole, seem to be really good people.

I still can't see why we should let Delph boy go for less than the supposedly £8 million discounted price we paid for him.

I thought he was garbage at Aston Villa and couldn't understand why Man City wanted him. Looked uncomfortable in an England shirt. Bit of a misfit with a poor injury record – perfect Everton player.

In addition to that, I don't think he would have been this injured had he still been at City. A bit like James McCarthy, who made 33 appearances for Palace last season vs the 108 in his 6-year Everton career.

If you can't see there is something deeply wrong there you need your head testing.

Sorry, I never rated him and I will drive him to Leeds myself – and I live in Sydney, lol.

He saw the bright lights and the easy ride Everton offer, similar to the majority of players that have been brought in over the last few seasons.

Everton who? Yes show me the money and I'm all yours. The club has been like a pimp hiring cheap hoes for inflated rates.

When a new player is heard screaming at his team-mates, “This is fucking shit“ then you know you've got problems, and it's no wonder the manager never even got till Christmas.

Delph is a decent player, but he hasn't been decent for Everton. I thought it was both telling and good management by Ancelotti, who has left Delph out since the re-start, urging him to concentrate on getting rid of all those little niggles that keep forcing him to miss games, and get himself 100% fit for the new season.

Maybe Leeds will benefit, but depending on who we bring in, maybe Everton will benefit? I think Phil @27 sums it up perfectly, because Fabian has never looked like he's prepared to go that extra mile in a blue shirt, possibly the first thing the players are taught, once they join our club!

Who is this Delph?

Only read the title, no need for anything else - Snatch their arm off and there'll be a queue to drive him there too.

Not Brands's best ever signing... along with more than a few others like Iwobi. Director of Football – my arse, Director of Shite more like.

It would free up a place in the treatment room. But it's not going to happen. There's no other club that stupid.

Pat, ‘Free up a place in the treatment room'... we need the space for when we re-sign John Stones.

Losing his cool and shouting “This is shit” at the underperforming mannequins around him strikes me as someone who has, at the very least, a passion and pride in performance that has long been extinct at Everton.

Watching Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson mince around like a sloth moving through treacle must have been a shock after Man City.

Unfortunately, the guy's made of glass and is in no position to help instil any pride into the overpaid frauds at Goodison Park. He'll be better off at a club who play football and with some passion.

Just didn't work for him or the club. A phrase we have heard much to often in the past 4 years.

Clive (5), stop it, but good you made me start the day with a belly laugh.

I cannot honestly remember a single positive contribution from Delph?!

You cannot say that very often about any player! Including Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, Bolasie, Besic et al. And going back further Angell, Barlow, Madar...

As some have said, I even forget he plays for us! I'd be pleased with £5M.

I can't think of a single instance in the rare times he wandered onto the field that I said "good pass" or "nice move" or "he'll do for us", just a waste of a shirt who kept the medical team's practical skills up to speed.

Okay, now, I don't do Twitter so correct me if I'm wrong. Some Everton fans gave Delph stick on Twitter, Delph gives it back and they get upset. Is that what the Twitter business is?

If so, it would appear that we also have fans who get a bit precious and run to Miss when they get a bit upset. “Please Miss, he answered back”.

FFS.

Poor signing. Terrible injury record and contributed nothing whatsoever and been paid a fortune in the process. A mark against Brands for sure. Get rid and move on to young, hungry talent.

Didn't understand the signing, let's hope he moves on.

I think his lack of fitness has been his downfall, not great on the field but better than most of the midfielders he was surrounded by. Not difficult I know, but after a few games he knew he was flogging a dead horse with his team mates, and let's be honest most of us realise that.

As Ray (49) says, he had a go at his fellow players, trying to encourage them, and he stuck up for himself on Twitter. Don't we all when someone has a go at us? I'm not on Twitter, by the way, I haven't got a shawl.

Delph's signing made a bit of sense at the time. He was playing under Pep in a Premier League winning side and 3 or 4 seasons of Champions League football. Going from that to an absolute shambles of a club probably sent him loopy.

I think Ancelotti will almost certainly continue playing a 4-4-2 next season so I'd keep him as 5th choice midfield and emergency left-back. If anyone is going to go, it has to be Sigurdsson, who just doesn't fit in anywhere and is on a downward spiral.

Ray@49. That's about it. They can give it out. But cry if anyone has a go back.

About the only thing you could say is he's good left-back cover, but we've got that young, untried, French kid in for that, so let's do this deal.

Paul @54

Thanks, I was beginning to think that I was terminally naive.😁

Another like Schneiderlin, Iwobi, Bolasie who got a reputation for being above journeyman whilst epitomising exactly what a journeyman is. These types are like cat-nip to this club – especially if sicknotes to boot.

He's an established Premier League player, England International, experienced – cover at left-back with Leighton having retired.

If we sell, we probably need more midfield cover and maybe a more first-team ready left-back than Nkounkou.

So may be best to retain his services than sell so cheaply. And that's from someone who doesn't really like the player...

Sell.

Talking about midfielders, I‘ve read we're in interested in Solly March from Brighton. Fuck that, just another name to add to the list of Over-hyped Ted Danson lookalikes we've had at Everton after Claus Thomsen and Craig Short.

Craig Short, I thought was okay. However, I don't understand the Solly March link — wasn't having a world recognised manager supposed to appeal to players that wouldn't normally come to a basket case club!

I'm more coming round all resources and effort is ploughed into the Academy.

I spoke to a lad I know who works at Finch Farm, and asked did he think Delph was a good signing. He said it depends how often we can get him on the pitch, and how right he was.

Doesn't matter how good of a player you are – if you can't get on the pitch through injury, then you don't serve any purpose. Let's not forget – he had the same injury concerns at City.

Delph needs to be sold purely on his fitness record.

I never understand why this factor gets overlooked so much. A player who isn't reliably available week in, week out is never going to make a significant contribution. By the age he was when we bought him, it was well established that he missed a lot of games and so it proved.

This might be tempered if someone is a great senior pro behind the scenes who brings the best out of others, especially young players.

I don't think anyone is going to claim that this is true of Delph. He's just another panic buy, bought on blind optimism and desperation, who didn't want to be here.

Some of the comments about Delph are, to say the least totally laughable. Keep him as a squad player, selling him too cheaply, and how great he was at City?

Pep ended up keeping him as reserve left back, and how do you keep him as a squad player, when he's permanently injured? It would be brilliant business if Leeds took him for £5m, I'd even throw in Sigurdsson for free in the deal.

His attitude stinks, and Silva was definitely right, when he said, he wasn't Gueye's replacement. I remember against Watford, he was so bad, and when he got the red card, and Holgate went to midfield, it turned the game.

I never rated him; when he did make a tackle, it was cynical, and a yellow card at best.

“just another name to add to the list of Overhyped Ted Danson lookalikes”

FINALLY someone has identified where we’ve been going wrong!

I really hope this is true. Terrible signing for many reasons. Best for all concerned to move him on.

Mike@62, I am not defending Delph in any way shape or form, but on your point of checking out players at their future possible fitness or availability, always carries an element of risk.

I remember when we bought Joleon Lescott, he had knee issues in the past and many were saying at the time that he would be a risk etc. If my memory serves me correctly, he was an ever-present in his first season with us, as well as being a decent defender at either left-back or left centre-back. I'm also fairly confident that this carried through until his departure to Man City.

On his day, a good player. However, he was always very injury prone. We never saw his true capability. Good luck to him in a move.

A lot of Iwobi knockers on here at the moment. Just give the lad a chance.

I'll gladly volunteer to drive him to Elland Road. Awful signing.

He's finally taught me not to get excited about a signing that looks good on paper in the heady days of August. I remember people on TW saying he was a leader and a winner. Well, we never saw it in an Everton shirt.

It would be a good move for everyone.

PG Malcom. Good insight re Ted Danson lookalikes. I remember when Tony Grant came on the scene. Certainly had talent but looked too much like Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Going back even further there used to be suggestions that Norman Whiteside looked like Russ Abbott. It was never going to work out.

Maybe that is the issue with Bolasie. To my mind he looks like JB Smoove – who plays Leon in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The curse of a comedy doppelganger perhaps.

Colin #24

Just did and she said she doesn't like football!

We all know he is injury-prone but, when he is fit, he can play, also cover for left-back.

For £8M, I would keep him another year and let's see if we can get him on the pitch and get some value out of him.

Move him on. £100k a week and £5M fee is better spent elsewhere.

At least so far we have not outbid Zenit St Petersburg for Dejan Lovren.

There may be light at the end of our transfer tunnel but likely to be a two carriage trundler with our next signing from Old Trafford or Etihad.

Derek Knox

Good point on Lescott, similar with Gray and Reid. On the other hand, you've got Whiteside, Van der Meyde. So, as you say, it's always a gamble.

Asa Hartford was found to have a hole in his heart which stopped a transfer to Leeds in the 70s. He went on to play maybe 300 times for Man City and almost 100 games for us as well as going to a World Cup with Scotland. The lad just wanted to play, tried his best every single time he pulled on a shirt. I think you want to play or you don't; Delph doesn't.

He's already cost us £14M in fees and wages, if he's on £100k a week and could cost us another £12M if he sees out his contract.

You can only be reserve left-back or 5th choice midfielder if you are available; I don't think Delph ever will be.

Get shot now for whatever we can.

Paul @74. Who do you reckon – Phil Jones or Jesse Lingard? They might throw in Rojo as well...

Move him on. Unfortunately, he will be included in the list of poor signings made by Brands, not quite up there with Iwobi but bad enough all the same.

Ray (44 & 49). Two excellent posts. Delph correctly points out, on the pitch directly to his team-mates and presumably for the purposes of getting some sort of much-needed reaction, that they were shit. For this, he is labeled a scumbag.

Meanwhile, over on the forum, posters are calling the same underperforming team-mates all of the names under the sun but this is called being a 'supporter'.

When the petty name-calling moves from TW's Live Forum to Twitter (presumably after a couple of Stellas for courage) the same supporters get hysterical when called out for it.

He was another poor signing, coming in on crazy wages with a poor injury record. Hope he leaves but I would be surprised if Leeds buy him.

Regretfully I don't believe Leeds will take him off our hands, especially if the Daily Star is the source of the information. I can't see them paying him £80k per week unfortunately. We'll be stuck with him for 2 more years.

I don't think he's a bad player, he's just injury prone. If I had to choose an Everton team sheet with him or Davies starting in centre-midfield I'd pick Delph every day of the week and twice on a Sunday. A fully fit Delph could be an asset to the club but sadly to say a fully fit Davies shouldn't be in our starting 11.

If Delph could have a season with minimal injury problems, I'm sure he'd be a valuable asset but the problem being will we get 30 plus games a season from him?? Sadly I fear not, Ancelotti needs to make the call but I'd be surprised if another club would buy him with his injury problems.

Ray @44 is quite right. Delph called out his team mates for being shit. Disgraceful. That sort of inaccuracy cannot go unpunished.

A waste of money. Not his fault he signed for us with that injury record. EFC are to blame. I wonder if he does go will he say something about how EFC are run?

Great, sell him ASAP.

A good player several years ago but has since played little football due to injuries and Everton don't need to waste time and money on such a mature player.

He will not solve our midfield problems as he is too similar to what we already have and like Mina can not be relied upon to be fit, never mind play 2 or 3 games in a row.

A much better replacement is needed.

Sell him sharpish so that we can replace him with some other crock.
The player's professionalism and enthusiasm is catching, hence I no longer give a damn either.

Ian (74),

Delph is on £80k a week not £100k. But yes, too much for very little return.

Signing Delph had to be the ultimate sign of incompetence and putting him on that huge salary was inexcusable, he is a walking sicknote.

This just shows that Brands doesn't know his arse from his elbow about football, yet no questions are asked at board level because
– quite unbelievably – he's a board member, how was that allowed to happen?

I guess we get what we deserve and have a turgid team devoid of entertainment.

I suspect we will either have to give Delph away or heavily subsidise his wage elsewhere if an incoming fee is involved. Another poor signing by Brands.

Slightly through gritted teeth, he does provide emergency cover at left-back, now we have lost Leighton Baines, and he is left-footed, which does provide balance. I would be very surprised if we managed to bring in the Madrid left-back, finishing the season we way we did will have impressed no-one.

I hope this one comes off. The lad has been a disaster. Get rid asap please.

I'm not venting my spleen either but Delph is a shitbag. An absolute shithouse shitbag. Big mouthed blag hard man shitbag. Stocky walk and swagger like Steven Gerrard (Captain Shitbag) and an awful attitude to match.

You can only call your team mates shit if you are any good. He is not. Not even close. He is a fraud who makes Besic look like Zidane.

I remember him kicking the turf into the crowd when he was warming up as a sub for Villa. He then hitched up his shorts to show the first few rows of the enclosure his backside. Martin O'Neill had to call him back to their bench before he was lynched by a group of angry fathers. To this day I can still remember him smirking at us while the stewards had to calm a load of our fans down who were venting their spleens.

Apparently he was also quite happy on social media when the other crowd were crowned ‘Champions' last month.

As I say, shitbag.

Shitbag.

@Robert Tressell, some good ones there. I'd never noticed the JB Smoove one but that's a cracker.

Great to see someone mentioning Tony Grant as well, he's a good Evertonian.

Jay @92, you've said it all, and in fair tune.

Yes, he must go as, if the club is to start fresh and using a common Everton 2020 mantra, get the same values and beliefs from youth to first team, then Alex Iwobi must go.

He's taken the piss, in every way, and frankly shouldn't get in the first-team squad again, but that's only my view. He came as a proven dud, with no fitness and also has the shallowness to ordain himself as some proven international, with a shed load of honours, and to follow his ways, is best practice.

Everton in my view has a massive challenge, in as much off the pitch as on it. Buying cheap means buying twice; and buying duds at the wrong price means buying twice,

Marcel Brands, must know it's time to earn his money at Everton. PSV, and the Eredivisie success was great on his CV but now is what counts, and this is arguably in the worst slump in Everton history. This preseason, we can't have any duds brought in via the transfer market and, with a proven world class manager, there's no more excuses.

Time to come good and provide some hope and deliverance for EFC. The more I think about Finch Farm, and I wonder what's gone on... not just now, but for years.