Goodison News View: PL midfielder target the perfect signing for Everton
This Everton squad, although talented, has been proven this season to have plenty of holes, with one of the biggest being in central midfield.
Obviously injuries have played a part in that, with Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin missing significant time this season.
However, the likes of Fabian Delph, Morgan Schneiderlin and Tom Davies have been exposed to varying degrees.
So it would be a good idea for new manager Carlo Ancelotti to strengthen the middle of the park this month, and it appears that that’s just what he’s attempting to do.
Sky Sports News reported on their transfer centre [23/01; 21:08] that Southampton captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is their primary central midfield target this month.
However, it’s said that it would take £35million to bring the Denmark international to Goodison Park.
Obviously that’s a lot of money, but Hojbjerg would be worth it for the Toffees. Plus, they could send former Saint Schneiderlin back to St Mary’s to sweeten the deal and perhaps lower the transfer fee.
The Saints skipper is a jack-of-all-trades who has improved year on year on the south coast. This campaign, he’s averaging fine numbers across the board.
The 24-year-old is averaging 1.4 shots, 1.1 key passes and 1.3 successful dribbles per game, to go with 57.6 passes an outing with a success rate of 77.3%.
Defensively, he averages 2.5 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 1.8 clearances per game, to go with an average WhoScored rating of 6.84.
That last number doesn’t jump off the page, but it’s not bad at all in a topsy-turvy Southampton team.
The fact that he can do a bit of everything, and has the passing ability to dictate games, means that he’d be a fine recruit for the Blues. He’d certainly be an upgrade on Schneiderlin, Delph and Davies, anyway.
This feels like a no-brainer, particularly if Schneiderlin can be used in part-exchange. Simply put, the Toffees must pull the trigger.
In other Everton news, the representatives of one of the club’s prime transfer targets are thought to be flying to the UK for talks.