Everton face three new contract dilemmas with key deal agreed

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With Idrissa Gueye signed up for another year at Everton, the contract drama is done at Hill Dickinson Stadium. For now.

The veteran midfielder has agreed to a one-year extension with the Blues with the option for a further campaign included. He follows star defender Jarrad Branthwaite, club captain Seamus Coleman and Michael Keane in committing his future to the club.

Negotiations will surely be underway to assess the next set of expiring contracts though, with a number of players going into their final year with the Blues. Our writers look at which player should take priority in that next batch of renewals.

Joe Thomas

I think this season is a big one for James Garner. He has been a dependable figure in the middle since arriving from Manchester United and, in glimpses, he has shown he can offer more than dogged determination. Those moments - the through ball to Beto against Leicester City, his goal in the home win over Bournemouth a few years ago, his overall display in a more advanced position in the Carabao Cup win at Aston Villa - have shown some real strengths that will hopefully get more of a chance to rise to the fore after this squad has been rebuilt.

Considering the range of passing Garner has, it must have been tough to play in a side that for so much of his Blues career has played with wingers tasked with more responsibility on their defensive duties than their attacking ones.

There may come more freedom next season and, with it, hopefully he can grow into a player who can have more influence on matches. He should have competition for his place because Everton need to strengthen in the middle. But of this group, I think Garner has the biggest upside and I would want to secure his future first to ensure that, if he steps up at the new stadium, Everton are not left scrambling to tie him down with suitors already attempting to swoop.

Paul Wheelock

Quite simply - all three.

James Tarkowski is effectively the team's on-field captain now that Seamus Coleman enters the twilight of his career and, while 33 later this year, the centre-back's level of performance and his availability and dependability means he would be quickly snapped by another Premier League club if he gets to this stage next year without a new deal having been signed.

James Garner, meanwhile, at just 24, has the best years in front of him, and while his time at Everton has been hampered by injury, there is a player there, and he is one who needs to be tied down to a new contract in order for supporters to see it on Merseyside.

And as for Vitalli Mykolenko, as the club's sole left-back, and a solid one at that, he has shown enough encouraging signs under David Moyes to take his game forward as he approaches the prime of his career. The 26-year-old still needs to become much more of a threat going forward, but even if Moyes decides to bring in another left-back to either provide cover and competition for the Ukrainian or even replace him, Mykolenko would remain a very important squad member.

Given the uncertainty at the club in recent years, it was not surprising that so many players entered this summer with uncertainty over whether they would sign new deals or not. And while, you could argue that Everton had seen the best of the players who ultimately left on free transfers, the same could not be said about Tarkowski, Garner and Mykolenko.

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Matt Jones

If James Tarkowski was able to recapture the level he showcased last season before his injury, then he would have to be the priority.

Everton do have depth at centre-back with Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane and Jake O'Brien. But Tarkowski is still a dependable performer and is able to bring out the best in the former of that trio.

But after his first serious injury layoff as an Everton player, all eyes will be on him in pre-season. Now 32, will the break be tough for him to recover from or after playing so much football will he be revitalised for an extra long pre-season?

Vitalii Mykolenko also needs to have his future sorted. As things stand, he is the only senior left-back at the club and has no natural cover. Unless Everton want to completely overhaul the position he has a role to play going forward, as limited as he may be from an attacking perspective.

James Garner is in a similar position. He too is a solid player who operates at a decent baseline level. Still, he's a footballer that you're so often craving more from.

Everton don't have many senior central midfielders though and even with Idrissa Gueye agreeing a new deal, Garner will have a bigger role to play next year. The Senegal international is not only in the twilight years of his career, but he could miss seven games due to his country's participation in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Connor O'Neill

Firstly, I agree with Paul. I think Evert on should be working to keep all three players at the club beyond the end of this season.

However, if I had to pick one, then the most important to tie down is James Garner - and he has Jarrad Branthwaite to thank for that.

Had the centre-back not recently committed his future to the club, then James Tarkowski would have been my answer to the above question.

But with Branthwaite recently signing a new deal and with Jake O’Brien having impressed in the second-half of last season, that means Everton could be less reliant on Tarkowski over the next couple of years.

That is not to say that the centre-back still doesn’t have an important role to play, but with a right-back set to come in this summer, Branthwaite and O’Brien could very easily form a partnership at the heart of the Blues’ defence moving forward.

When it comes to Garner, I have to admit I am a big fan. He’s a solid 7 out of 10 every week and one of the few players in Everton’s squad who has the ability to keep the ball.

I understand those who say he can do more, but I think he has become an important player for David Moyes, and he still has his best years ahead of him.

However, I certainly wouldn’t be against seeing all three handed new contracts over the coming weeks and months.

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