There's no hiding from it: Everton have suffered a dismal start to the 2024/25 campaign. Bewildered players dotted the Goodison Park pitch as Bournemouth engineered the most dramatic of comebacks to win 3-2 before the imminent international break.
The positive? The Toffees played well, led by two goals with 86 minutes on the clock and with a clean sheet at that. But after being thrashed by Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur in previous fixtures, this was most unwelcome for Sean Dyche and co.
Luckily, the September break allows Dyche to regroup. There is, however, a glaring issue: Everton's defence looks a shell of itself.
Everton's defensive conundrum
Last season, James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite enjoyed one of the Premier League's steeliest defensive partnerships, with Everton's Jordan Pickford keeping 13 clean sheets, second and behind only Arsenal's David Raya.
But Branthwaite has yet to make his seasonal debut as he continues to nurse a groin injury that his manager appeared to admit may not be overcome when Aston Villa are taken on in just under two weeks.
Michael Keane has played in the athletic 21-year-old's stead, and while he scored against Bournemouth, the 31-year-old has long flattered to deceive at Goodison Park and has only won 40% of his ground duels this term, as per Sofascore.
Branthwaite, conversely, won 67% of his ground battles last season. The disparity is stark. Jake O'Brien was signed from Lyon for £17m in July to shore up the backline but he has yet to rise from the bench in the top flight.
Might there be a market opportunity for Dyche to capitalise on?
Why Everton should sign Joel Matip
It's a deal that would send shockwaves across Merseyside. The transfer window might have slammed shut but one or two Premier League outfits are still scouring the market for reinforcements.
West Ham United are one such outfit, interested in adding to their defence after losing Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd this summer. According to club insider ExWHUEmployee, the Irons are pushing ahead to sign Joel Matip, who is a free agent after his contract with Liverpool expired in June.
Were Everton to forge ahead and hijack their divisional rivals' signing, it would be controversial indeed, but there's little question that the 32-year-old Cameroonian could be the perfect addition to add some depth and leadership at a crucial point in the Merseysiders' history.
Indeed, nothing new has bobbed to the surface, but Matip has been on Everton's radar this summer. According to Caught Offside one month ago, Everton were actually locked in talks with the player's agent to determine the probability of completing a move. Bayer Leverkusen and Fulham were also interested, though Matip remains on the market, free of charge.
Everton lost all sense of defensive purchase in that late-stage horrorshow, and an experienced head such as Matip's could go a long way to changing the mentality and ensuring that such issues are put firmly to bed.
The fact that he's enjoyed a decorated career across the road at Anfield is something to be taken into account, but Matip knows the city well and could be inclined to extend his stay, especially when considering that he is still actually at the top of his game – or at least, he was before suffering an ACL injury against Fulham last December, which remains his last professional appearance.
Matches (starts)
10 (9)
Goals
0
Clean sheets
2
Touches*
67.5
Pass completion
88%
Ball recoveries*
5.8
Tackles*
1.2
Clearances*
4.1
Total duels won*
4.3 (61%)
Once hailed as a "titan among ants" by editor Robin Wigglesworth, the veteran is a colossal presence but he's also got some excellent technical qualities that could actually raise Everton's level, allowing more fluency and a ball-playing channel from which those further up the pitch can feed onto.
Indeed, as per FBref, the 6 foot 5 giant ranks among the top 20% of central defenders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 16% for passes attempted, the top 17% for progressive passes, the top 20% for progressive carries, the top 6% for blocks and the top 9% for aerial duels won per 90.
Branthwaite's injury has issued a solemn comment on Everton's strength in depth at the back. Ten goals have been conceded across only three matches, zero Premier League points have been claimed and, to exacerbate the flaming situation, Aston Villa will await the Blues at Villa Park on Saturday the 14th of September.
From that point, an ostensibly favourable run of fixtures that fans will hope – expect – the Merseysiders to rise to and begin to collect some points and rise above the relegation fodder.
Branthwaite, we all hope, will be fit and firing once again for this crucial spell, but Everton cannot remain reliant on his fitness – or indeed Tarkowski's, who has not missed a match since joining the club in 2022.
You can't help but imagine that the manner of the Toffees' inexplicable capitulation against the Cherries last time out could have been a different story were Branthwaite next to the club's vice-captain.
Pundit Trevor Sinclair has branded Keane as a "liability" in the past and such words seem to be ringing true at present, for he is not contributing to a successful defence at present. Matip would undoubtedly prove to be an upgrade.
The Liverpool "legend" – as dubbed by Virgil van Dijk – would strengthen the framework at Goodison Park, and given Keane's struggles to perform with Branthwaite on the sidelines, it might be a move that Dyche and his transfer team need to make – with haste.
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