Everton manager Sam Allardyce looking to bring balance to Goodison Park with January transfers

Everton manager Sam Allardyce is keen to restore balance to his squad at Goodison Park and hinted that there may be a few arrivals and departures on Merseyside during the January transfer window as he seeks meetings with all of his players.

The Toffees spent close to £150m ($199.78m) in the summer transfer window but the muddled thinking over recruitment has left the Toffees overloaded in some areas of the pitch but scarce in others.

Allardyce, who has already confirmed that signing a striker is his priority in the January transfer window, is keen to gauge the mood music among the players at Goodison Park and has already begun to hold meetings with his stars in an attempt to identify the best course of action for each and every one of them ahead of next month's window, which promises to be very busy for the blue half of Merseyside.

"It's not in terms of January, it's what I need to know about the player and how he thinks," Allardyce said in his press conference. "I've had four meetings, it's tough with the games we have but we will get there as quickly as we can. Those meetings have been instigated by me, I haven't had a player knock on my door yet ask me about their position, we'll get through the squad as soon as we can.

"I've got 31 professionals, if they're all fit. In all honesty more in some areas and less in others which would be something I may try and even out to fill areas where we're short. Any player who becomes frustrated enough that he can't get in the side, we'll look at the options in January."

Summer signings Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez have failed to settle since arriving from Ajax and Malaga respectively, and both have been linked with moves away over the last few months. The pair have barely featured in the Premier League since the embryonic stages of the campaign, and Allardyce thinks they need more time to settle to their surroundings and have been hampered by Everton's poor start to the campaign, though the Toffees have seemingly turned a corner in recent weeks.

"It's difficult for a player from abroad to settle immediately and I think more difficult when a club is struggling," Allardyce said. "I think that time is what they need, you come into a different culture and environment from your previous club. It's our responsibility to make sure they're comfortable at the club, where they live, their partner's comfortable with the choices they made. If there's a problem then more will arise as they try to break into the squad."

Allardyce knows Everton are in need of substantial surgery during the winter window, but he will be mindful not to stifle the young talent at his disposal. Ademola Lookman, Nikola Vlasic, Tom Davies, Mason Holgate and Jonjoe Kenny have all featured to varying levels of prominence this season, and the former England boss knows they are the future of the club.

"We have very impressive lots of young players in the squad under the age of 22 that will hopefully break through," Allardyce said. "Some of them are disappointed they aren't playing more but, keeping hold of these players and keeping them happy is the future of Everton, they've always had a very good track record for that."