The genius Everton and Arsenal swap transfer deal that makes perfect sense for both clubs

Everton's season is beginning to resemble a Chumbawumba song. The Toffees got knocked down, but they got back up again under the assumption that a points deduction was never gonna keep them down. Now, however, they might be about to get knocked down once more.

The Premier League has charged the Blues, alongside Nottingham Forest, with breaching its financial rules on profit and sustainability. It's like Groundhog Day if Bill Murray worked for HMRC instead of WPBH-TV9. Both clubs have been referred to an independent commission, and the prospect of yet another points deduction looms large for Sean Dyche's men.

Regardless of what happens in the conference rooms and email chains, however, the Toffees stagger into the rest of the January transfer window knowing that they must ideally achieve two things. Firstly, they need to find a way of balancing the books at Goodison Park a little better, and secondly, they, like so many other sides in the Premier League, need a consistent goalscorer.

Despite the fact that they would be roosting comfortably in mid-table were it not for the 10-point blow they have already absorbed, Everton have outscored just three teams in the top flight this season: Crystal Palace, Sheffield United, and Burnley. Teetering on the brink of catastrophe, a single point above the relegation zone, that is a pattern of aridity which is going to become increasingly concerning as the season drags on.

There could be a way that they could kill two birds with one proverbial stone, however. At the time of writing, Arsenal continue to be linked, heavily and repeatedly, with a potential move for Belgian midfielder Amadou Onana. According to a report from i, Everton value the player at around £60 million, a figure that the Gunners will struggle to produce this winter due to those pesky Financial Fair Play regulations - unless, of course, they can offload certain surplus talents of their own. For their part, the Toffees would be quite happy to hang on to Onana for the foreseeable future.

But the need for goals lingers on, and one of the players who is perpetually touted for an Arsenal exit is Eddie Nketiah. There is an unshakeable feeling that the striker, while a willing deputy to Gabriel Jesus, is never going to be the kind of attacking focal point who can fire the Gunners to a Premier League title for which they so desperately yearn. That's not to say that he couldn't do a job for a team scrapping for their lives at the other end of the table, though...

It must be reiterated that all of this is one big hypothetical, but picture the scene; Arsenal snag Onana to finally complete their midfield engine room, Everton get Nketiah and, say, £20 million to ease their financial woes and maybe, just maybe, bolster their squad ahead of a vital relegation battle as well. It could be a deal that benefits all parties.

Of course, there are prospective hiccups to navigate. Arsenal's lack of strength in depth up front could make them reluctant to part with Nketiah at this particular juncture, while there will be those associated with Everton who would rather lose a limb than bid farewell to Onana as the going gets even tougher. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices in the short term to work towards long term ambitions.

In truth, this is an agreement that will almost certainly never come to fruition, but that doesn't mean that both clubs shouldn't at least consider it. Stranger, and more damaging, things have happened.