Never Thought Everton Not Landing Extra Striker Catastrophe Insists Former Midfielder | OneFootball

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Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy insists he never considered Everton‘s failure to sign a striker in the summer transfer window to be a catastrophe.

At the weekend, Everton secured a 1-0 win over newly promoted Premier League side Ipswich Town, with Thierno Barry scoring early for the Toffees.

David Moyes’ side have started the season strongly and are currently unbeaten in the league with two wins and three draws in their last five matches.

The Toffees invested in strengthening their squad over the summer, but missed out on finding a replacement for Beto, who joined Italian outfit Fiorentina.

There has been big criticism of the Toffees for failing to get another striker and again there could be a lack of goals this season.

However, Murphy feels that it was not a catastrophe that they did not sign a striker, as the team is well balanced and Everton have quality players, despite having a thin squad.

The former Premier League star stressed that Everton have a solid backline and in the team everyone knows their role, meaning they can conjure results even if they are not playing up to the mark.

Murphy said on the BBC: “There’s been a lot of discontent among the fanbase regarding the owners and a transfer policy that left themselves short in forward areas.

“But the rest of the side is so well balanced; they all know their jobs, they know what they’re doing, and that backline with the keeper behind it is really solid.

“So, I never thought it was a catastrophe that they didn’t get a striker in.

“Because they’re so well organised and defensively so good, they’re always going to nick results when they’re not playing well.

“I do understand the fans’ frustration, but I didn’t think for a second they’d be in any danger because they didn’t get cover in for their forwards.

“It is a thin squad, but they’ve still got quality.”

On deadline day, Everton were working to sign striker Folarin Balogun from Monaco and were trying to lower their asking price after a failed medical, but ultimately the deal collapsed after he refused to join.

Monaco were looking to sell Balogun to balance the books, and earlier this month a move to Turkey was on the cards, but it never materialised.

It remains to be seen whether Everton will revisit their interest in Balogun in the winter transfer window, but there will be an expectation that the Toffees explore bringing in another striker.