Everton in hunt to sign Lille’s Boubakary Soumare
Everton are interested in signing Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare according to French outlet Foot Mercato.
The Frenchman has had a brilliant season and is two games away from winning the Ligue 1 title.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, his form has garnered a lot of interest, with Premier League clubs such as Wolves, Aston Villa and Leicester all linked to the 22-year-old.
Newcastle had a bid worth £35million accepted for Soumare in January 2020, but the player turned down a move to St. James’ Park [BBC].
Lille president Gerard Lopez is a huge fan, and he said of Soumare [via Goal], “He’s one of the very best at his job.
“He’s technical, with incredible physical power and wins a great deal of possession. He’s a modern No.6 or 8. We’ll see him in the France team very soon.
“He’s a clear vision of where he wants to go and he’s working very hard to get there.”
There is plenty to like about the complete midfielder, as his ability is matched by a dedication to work hard to be the best.
That is exactly what Everton need if we are to qualify for the Champions League.
Soumare seems to be the type of character who will progress constantly, and that could have a positive effect on the rest of the squad.
This season the Lille star has 86% pass accuracy, 1.4 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game [WhoScored].
He excelled recently in a crucial game against PSG, winning seven out of his nine duels, as well as making two interceptions to help his side to a 1-0 win, per SofaScore.
Soumare was responsible for containing Neymar and he succeeded since the Brazilian picked up a rating of 6.3, and was frustrated to the point where he lashed out and was red-carded.
The Toffees need that bite in midfield as only Allan can really fulfil that role.
A player sitting in midfield like Soumare would allow us to move away from a back five, and would enable the rest of the team to be adventurous in attack.
We would love Marcel Brands to make a move this summer, therefore, even if it costs a hefty chunk of our budget.
In other Everton news, ‘Superb’ – Patrick Boyland raves about Everton U23 star after what he did on Friday.
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