Inside Everton's transfer deadline day with Dominic Calvert-Lewin saga and audacious late bid

Everton signed Armando Broja with one of the final acts of a long summer after an audacious last minute bid for the striker. The 22-year-old became the club's eighth signing of the window after a deal sheet was submitted just before the 11pm deadline on Friday.

That gave transfer chiefs until 1am to finalise a move, which they were able to do. That deal will see him join on a season-long loan that included an option to make the deal permanent next summer. Broja is currently out of action due to a foot injury and will now link up with Everton's medical team to continue his rehabilitation. The club will not have to pay anything for the deal unless and until he is in a senior matchday squad.

Everton have long-admired Broja but it was Ipswich Town who appeared to be working hardest to push a deal through for the forward. When talks broke down on that front Everton launched a daring final effort to bring him to Merseyside.

After it was completed, director of football Kevin Thelwell said: "Having monitored Armando's journey for a number of years, we're very pleased to have been able to bring him to the club. Armando is still a young player who has already built up some impressive experience but someone we also feel has lots more potential to be unlocked. First and foremost, we will work with him to get him fit as soon as possible. Then, his addition will strengthen our options in the attacking department.”

The last minute deal will provide another layer of competition for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The story of deadline day looked set to be about him after he was set to remain with Everton following a summer dominated by uncertainty over his future. A day that ended with Everton in talks with Chelsea had indeed begun in the same fashion with the London club engaged in talks over the 27-year-old but a deal failed to progress and ran out of steam on Friday morning.

Discussions are understood to have included the potential for striker David Datro Fofana to move to Merseyside but such a deal was not deemed desirable for Everton. The passing of the transfer deadline brought an end to a saga in which there was no clear path forward for the Blues.

Calvert-Lewin entered the final 12 months of his contract this summer and was offered fresh terms. But they are yet to be signed and, as it stands, he will now be available to leave on a free next summer. The prospect of losing him on that basis is far from ideal for a club that continues to battle financial and regulatory issues.

It does mean that Sean Dyche was not cut adrift from his favoured forward ahead of another season in which he will be tasked with pushing a threadbare squad to its limits. Last summer, Dyche lost Alex Iwobi in the final hours of the window when Fulham submitted a bid that was too good to turn down. The hope at the Finch Farm had been that he would remain, with Calvert-Lewin still being at the club factored into preparations for the match against Bournemouth.

Where Everton and Calvert-Lewin go from here remains to be seen. While his sale may have held value for the club’s accountants, his departure would have been a risk for a side that has struggled for goals even with him in the side.

The extent of what can be achieved this season remains heavily dependent on the forward’s form. Last season he found fitness after two campaigns blighted by injury but his form was patchy. His goals came in flurries that lifted Everton to midtable in the autumn and then safety in April - all but confirmed by his header in the landmark Merseyside derby win at Goodison. If this is to be his final season in Royal Blue then the hope will be that he can push on from that and, even if a side effect is to make his exit for free more likely than any reconsideration of a new deal, hit the form that will help Everton avoid any trouble this season. The addition of Broja offers welcome competition and cover, however.

Late intrigue also came through Mason Holgate. The defender’s future was uncertain going into the summer but injuries to Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski led to the 27-year-old enjoying prominence during pre-season. The arrival of Jake O’Brien pushed him down the pecking order, however, and while he was brought on against Brighton and Hove Albion following Ashley Young’s red card, the decision to offer a debut to academy right back Roman Dixon amid an injury crisis at Tottenham Hotspur spelt the end of his prospects of a game in Royal Blue.

French side Lyon entered into talks over a permanent move for Holgate on Friday but they quickly collapsed. Just as it looked as though he would not be offered an escape from Finch Farm, Championship side West Bromwich Albion’s late bid provided him with a new opportunity through a season-long loan.

He was not the only exit on a busy final day of a transfer window that ended how it started. The opening hours of the window saw Manchester United submit an outrageous bid for Jarrad Branthwaite and Arsenal enquire about Amadou Onana. As well as Holgate’s departure and the move for Broja, the final hours saw the departure of Neal Maupay and a host of academy talents. Maupay’s ill-fated stint at Everton is now over. The 28-year-old moved to Marseille on a season-long loan that includes an obligation to make the move permanent. The deal has a value of around £6m and it could rise to £10m. Few tears will be shed on either side after Maupay took to social media to share a scene from classic jailbreak film the Shawshank Redemption amid news Marseille had secured a breakthrough in talks over his signature. Maupay, who scored just once for Everton, said his goodbyes at Finch Farm on Thursday and Dyche said he left on amicable terms.

Under-21s midfielder Halid Djankpata left for Italy, joining Spezia for an undisclosed fee. Goalkeeper Billy Crellin (Accrington Stanley), Francis Okoronkwo (Salford City), Jenson Metcalfe (Chesterfield) became the latest players to leave to further their development. Harry Tyrer (Blackpool), Eli Campbell (Ross County) and Tyler Onyango (Stockport County) have also departed on loan.

The big news that everyone was waiting for came at 6.30pm when Orel Mangala’s move to Merseyside was confirmed. The 26-year-old joined from Lyon on a loan that will enhance an area that Everton chiefs believed was light following the summer departures of Amadou Onana and Andre Gomes.

Dyche had little concern over Mangala’s failure to make an impact at Lyon, instead placing his focus on the midfielder’s Premier League experience - an attribute he puts a high value on and which is one thing he believes has been lacking from the recruitment of the summer, pleased with it as he is.

Dyche said in advance of the deal being confirmed: “He did have some Premier League experience at Forest in a similar environment [to Everton] in the sense it was not an easy situation, they were not running away and winning every game so that takes a certain mentality to understand that and deal with it. So that is helpful in a group where some of the more experienced players have gone, getting a player who has felt it, smelt it and knows what it is about.”

There was still one further addition to Everton, with the club signing 18-year-old Francis Gomez from Nigerian side Sporting Supreme. The midfielder has moved to Lyon on loan.