Doucouré and Gueye could both be set for contract talks at Everton
Everton look set to have full discussions later this month about contract renewals with those players they are keen to retain for next season.
Depending on how results go this weekend, the Blues could assure mathematical safety from relegation when they meet Manchester City at Goodison Park and Ipswich Town, the last remaining team in the bottom three who could still overhaul Everton’s current points total, host Arsenal.
Absolute certainty of being a Premier League club next season will enable the Everton to ramp up their plans for what promises to be a busy summer when they will have 13 players whose current terms expire. Some of them will almost certainly be departing, with injured duo Orel Mangala and Jesper Lindstrøm seeing their loan spells end while rumour has it that of the other two loanees, Jack Harrison will be returning to Leeds United and that the Toffees won’t be exercising a £30m option to sign Armando Broja on a permanent basis from Chelsea.
Assuming none of those are re-signed on fresh loan deals, that will leave four spots to fill in the first-team squad, which is why the hierarchy are reportedly keen to offer Idrissa Gueye a new contract and talks are likely to be held with Abdoulaye Doucouré about the possibility of him remaining with the Blues, perhaps on reduced wages.
Doucouré is among Everton’s highest earners and with the French-born midfielder turning 33 next season and a new, more cost-focused ownership at the helm in the form of the Friedkin Group, it was not felt practical to take up the club option for another year on his existing deal.
Doucouré, who scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Nottingham Forest last Saturday, intimated after the game at the City Ground that he was trying to make the most of what could be his last games in a Royal Blue jersey but admitted that while there is nothing on the table from the Club yet, he really wants to stay at Everton.
"I can't talk too much about that but it is maybe my last moments at the club and at the moment it is very quiet on the club side,” Doucouré told BBC Sport.
"I love this club. Since the moment I signed, always I want to stay. My contract is running out so let's see what happens in the next couple of weeks. But I love this club."
Previously, Doucouré had explained to The Times that, “It’s a difficult situation, to be honest. I never lie when I talk about my future. Obviously I’ve had a great time here. I don’t know what’s going to come next. I’m a free agent now so I have some possibilities.
“I will always cherish my time here and I will be very happy for what I did for Everton. Even if I leave, inside my heart I will always be a Blue."
Gueye, meanwhile, made similar noises but suggested that he will be taking his family’s thoughts into account before making any decision over where he will be playing his football next season.
The Senegalese turns 36 later this year but he has been in the form of his career throughout the course of this season and shows no signs of slowing down due to age.
"I'm not in a rush to decide about my future," he was quoted as saying earlier this month. "I would love to continue at this place I call home, but that's not only my decision to make."
Reader Responses
Selected thoughts from readers17/04/2025 09:42:18
It is no secret that we need bodies in the squad. We are lacking quality, if not quantity in attack, we are short of full backs and cover everywhere.
With so many players leaving or able to leave, we have to ensure we can replace them.
But we also have to manage finances much better than in the past 10 years.
Contracts in excess of £5m a year for squad players is not affordable.
Other clubs can offer eye watering sums to their players, we can not.
Are we going to get better players than Doucoure and Gana on sensible contracts that we can afford? If so, sign them and move on. If not, as I suspect, offer these players terms reflecting where they, and we, are at the moment. We will see very quickly how much they 'love' Everton.
If the going rate for players who do similar jobs is (say) £3m pa and there are some willing and able to sign, then this is where we must pitch the negotiations.
The same applies throughout the team.
I would still love to see Calvert-Lewin here next year. After a season of being fit but playing a million miles from the support players, he finally looked what he is, a top centre forward, when Moyes got players running off him, only to be injured and miss the opportunity.
He will be tough to replace for small change, so this is where we are likely to see what money we have spent. That applies to wages as well as transfer fees. Journey man midfielders just don't get the same rates.
18/04/2025 07:42:26
Think Gueye has been one of the players of the season and earned an extension.
If we want to progress as a club, we need better quality players than Doucoure.
18/04/2025 09:58:06
Steve I basically agree with what you are saying but we have to accept Rome wasn’t built in a day and we can’t cure all of our problems in one summer, especially as PSR will still be in place.
We have a lot of areas we need to address and this summer I would focus on the right hand side of the team, both full back and winger/attacking midfielder as well as a centre forward who can score 15 goals a season.
On that basis I would give Doucoure a new contract, on significantly reduced terms, alongside Gueye. That would give us another season to develop Iroegbunam, Alcaraz (I think we should buy him) and, hopefully, Armstrong
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17/04/2025 09:01:01
Massive fan of Gana. There have been comments that he’s not as good as his first spell, but I think this season has shown these to be incorrect. We all know his limitations (shooting, creativity) but for breaking up play and winning the ball back, i.e. what he’s there for, he’s one of the best.
Douc’s is trickier…so many times he chooses the wrong option…but we need bodies, and he clearly loves the club. A new deal that reflects his advancing years and (what I hope) will be more of a squad player role would seem to me a good outcome.