Wolfsburg defender Ridle Baku suggested as possible Everton target
Wolfsburg defender Ridle Baku has been suggested as a possible right-back target for Everton this summer by recruitment specialists MRKT Insights.
The Toffees are in the market for a right-back this summer, with the Athletic confirming as far back in March, as the club look for Seamus Coleman’s long-term successor.
Mason Holgate has sporadically played on the right throughout the current campaign to mixed fortunes, while Jonjoe Kenny appears set to leave the club following the end of his Celtic loan spell.
The Athletic have worked with recruitment specialists MRKT Insights to compose a comprehensive transfer blueprint for Everton this summer, where targets were suggested for key positions in need of strengthening.
Max Aarons and Tariq Lamptey have both been considered right-back targets for the Blues for some time, but Wolfsburg full-back Baku has now been suggested as a suitable successor to Coleman.
Capable of playing both as a defensive full-back and as a marauding wide attacking threat, Baku’s versatility and physical metrics have been identified as points that would appeal to Marcel Brands and his recruitment team.
Barcelona’s Emerson Royal and Lille’s Zeki Celik were also named as potential options, while MRKT Insights gave further support to Aarons as a potential summer recruit.
Plenty of potential
The Bundesliga’s official website recently noted that Ridle Baku could be considered one of the most unsung players in the league this season, indicating that interest in the versatile 23-year old wouldn’t be misplaced this season.
Baku, valued at around £19.8million by Transfermarkt, could solve Everton’s defensive problems if the club were to turn their attention in his direction. According to stats from Wyscout, the German comfortably exceeds the Bundesliga average in his position for progressive passes, touches in the box and defensive duels won this season, and all that comes from a player playing outside of his natural position.
Baku has expressed a desire to play more regularly as right midfielder in the future instead of as right-back, with the former Mainz man having played both equally this season, but the ability to play in both roles could appeal to Carlo Ancelotti.
Everton are in desperate need of a right-sided winger as well as a full-back, so signing someone who could do both would certainly have its benefits.
Baku of course hasn’t been named as an actual target, simply someone who the club could perhaps benefit from targeting, and it certainly seems as though the Germany international should be someone who falls onto the club’s radar.
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