Alex Beard

Fri 17 January 2020 17:24, UK

Central midfield certainly appears to be an area of the pitch where Everton need to strengthen, partially because of some devastating injuries.

Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin have both spent significant amounts of time on the shelf, as has Fabian Delph to a lesser degree.

So new manager Carlo Ancelotti would be wise to strengthen in the middle of the park this month, and it’s looked like that’s what he’s wanted to do.

Italian outlet Calcio Mercato reported earlier this week that the Italian was very interested in bringing Inter Milan midfielder Matias Vecino to Goodison Park.

However, it now looks as though the Toffees have lost the race for the 28-year-old to a Premier League rival.

Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla claimed on his personal Twitter account on Friday that the Uruguay international has accepted a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Presumably that forms part of the impending deal to take Spurs star Christian Eriksen to the San Siro.

How big of a blow is this for Everton?

Certainly this will be frustrating for Ancelotti, especially if he was as keen on Vecino as the initial report suggested. He’s undoubtedly short on central midfield quality at the moment.

Vecino is a quality player, too. He’s got two goals and two assists this season and is averaging 1.9 tackles, one interception, 1.1 clearances and 1.2 blocks per game.

Unless the Toffees can find an alternative central midfield target, they may have to muddle on with what they’ve got and hope for the smooth returns of Gomes and Gbamin.

In other Everton news, Ancelotti has been heaping praise on one player in particular heading into this weekend.