David Moyes admits he has taken a chance on deadline-day signings Denis Stracqualursi and Royston Drenthe.
Toffees boss eager to get new boys match-fit
Everton manager David Moyes admits he has taken a chance on deadline-day signings Denis Stracqualursi and Royston Drenthe.
The Toffees sold Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Jermaine Beckford (Leicester) and Yakubu (Blackburn) just before the transfer window shut, bringing in both Stracqualursi (Tigers) and Drenthe (Real Madrid) on season-long loan deals.
With Victor Anichebe (ankle) having since been ruled out for a couple of months and Louis Saha still doubtful, Stracqualursi could start against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Moyes admits he has no idea how his new Argentinian striker will cope with the Premier League but plans to deploy Tim Cahill in an advanced role alongside him.
"We had Stracqualursi watched in Argentina last year and he was valued a lot more than we got him for - we took him for nothing," said the Scot.
"There weren't an awful lot of centre-forwards out there we could get and he became available to us at the last minute.
"In the end it was nearly worth the gamble to see how he does. We've done it before with loan signings; some have worked and some haven't.
Good record
"He has a good goal-scoring record in Argentina and looks like he can finish, but I'm not sure yet, we'll find out in time.
"But I do expect to play Cahill up front. He played up front against QPR so we will use him there.
"We have more options in midfield with the likes of Ross Barkley, Jack Rodwell, Marouane Fellaini, Leon Osman, John Heitinga and Phil Neville. Where we don't have a lot of options is at centre-forward.
"I need to add Tim Cahill to the group up front to see if I can find a combination which can get me some goals and lead the line."
Question marks have been raised over Drenthe's professionalism and Moyes admits he is unsure how the the Dutch winger will fare too.
"We don't know enough yet about Royston," he added. "We've not seen enough, although we have seen him in training.
"We'll give him a chance to work with Bainesy (Leighton Baines) as things go on.
Questions
"Everyone tells me he is a terrific player. There have been questions about him as a lad at times but I've found him fantastic in the week he's been here.
"The two's attitudes this week have been a breath of fresh air," Moyes said of his new boys.
"They've probably had double sessions this week as we try to get them into the right condition.
"The biggest thing they are lacking is match practice. Supporters have to understand it will take a bit of time to get them back [to fitness]."
