What The Papers Say - 3 March

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.

Wednesday’s Daily Mail claims Everton are “interested” in converting Joshua King’s short-term Goodison Park deal into a permanent arrangement.

Forward King signed a contract until the end of the season when he joined from Bournemouth in January.

“Everton are said to be reluctant to let King leave as Carlo Ancelotti and his staff recognise similarities between him and their star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin,” says the Mail report.

The same paper reckons Congolese forward Silas Wamangituka, who plays with Stuttgart in Germany, has “caught the attention of Everton”.

Wamangituka, 21, left Paris FC for Stuttgart in August 2019.

He promptly helped the club gain promotion into the Bundesliga and this season has 11 goals from 22 German top-flight appearances.

Everton have noted the player’s “pace and finishing ability”, according to the paper, which states Fulham are also keen on Wamangituka.

A number of newspapers report on Everton being installed as bookmakers’ favourites to sign Norwich City right-back Max Aarons this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are all supposedly interested in the 21-year-old, who has played every minute of table-topping Norwich’s City’s Championship campaign.

But it is Everton said to be leading the chase and poised for a potential second raid on Norwich following the acquisition of Ben Godfrey from Carrow Road five months ago.

The Boot Room picks up on quotes from Blackpool manager Neil Critchley, who has been talking about Ellis Simms, the Everton forward on loan at Bloomfield Road.

Simms has played eight games for Blackpool, scoring twice, and was man of the match in a 3-0 win a Charlton Athletic on Saturday.

“When he does what he’s good at, and he does it continuously, then it shows what a handful he can be,” said Critchley.

“He’s got pace, a physical presence and the attribute of running in behind.

“This is his first loan move playing men’s football and it’s a big step up from Under-23s to senior football.

“He’s adapting, and on Saturday he showed real signs of progression and coping at the level.

“Hopefully he can step on that now, stay in the team and do what he’s good at.”

Finally, Michael Ball uses his Liverpool Echo column to single out Jordan Pickford for praise.

Everton goalkeeper Pickford has recorded successive clean sheets in wins over Liverpool and Southampton, the latter shutout banked after the 26-year-old produced a tremendous last-minute stop from visiting defender Jannik Vestergaard.

Former Everton defender Ball writes: “If you want to be successful, you need goalkeepers to keep you in the game.

“Right at the death, he's made a match-winning save to get us the three points, and that's what you want from your goalkeeper.

“You want him [goalkeeper] to be very quiet, do his job as simply as possible and let his teammates go out and win a game.

“More importantly, if the lads make a mistake or give the opposition some space, then you need to be switched on and there to keep the team in the game.

“In back-to-back matches Pickford has done that... two clean sheets have given the lads every opportunity to go and win the football match.

“Huge credit to Jordan... those big performances, two different types of performance as well, were great to see.

“That's why he's England's No.1.”