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A NEED TO RIGHT WRONGS
Liverpool Sunday Echo
|July 20, 2025
Weakness is big concern
If Everton had their way then Kenny Tete would have solved their problem on the right of the defence.
In the end, the defender turned down the advances of the Blues and opted to stay with Fulham.
It was an early bloody nose in a transfer window that holds both risk and opportunity for David Moyes.
But there is the danger of having too much to do in a summer of immense transition for a club that is moving home and picking up the pieces after years of strife.
Twelve months ago, those in power decided to take a risk at right back. Rather than bring in the specialist that has been craved for so long they gambled on being able to get enough out of the cast of players who could play in that position if needed.
Initially it backfired - Ashley Young was shown red in the season opener and, with Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson injured, former manager Sean Dyche had to dig deep for an answer.
Everton muddled through and the arrival of Moyes led to a new square peg for the round hole that remained - Jake O'Brien.
The decision to move for Tete was a clear sign that Everton hoped makeshift cover was a need of the past.
But that move failed and, an hour into the second game of another summer, the towering centre back was again rampaging down the right.
A decision now needs to be made on what to do next.
O'Brien is an adequate option, a solid defender who has grown increasingly confident on the flank.
There is no left back in the Premier League that can defend him when he surges towards the back post to meet a deep cross.
This story is from the July 20, 2025 edition of Liverpool Sunday Echo.
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