Everton could sign Samuel Umtiti on a free transfer
Everton-linked Samuel Umtiti could reportedly have his contract terminated at Barcelona which is a perfect opportunity for the Toffees to capitalise.
There have been countless links with centre-backs this summer and it seems that Marcel Brands and co. are unlikely to bring Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly to Goodison Park this summer.
While Umtiti may not be at the Senegal international’s level, he’s certainly better than the options we have at the club, and it could be worth looking into signing him.
According to a Sport report from last week, we enquired into the availability of signing the France international this summer.
Recently, the same publication has broken the story that if the 27-year-old does not accept the new proposals put on the table by the club, they could look to unilaterally terminate his contract.
This will come as fantastic news to the Everton hierarchy and if it goes ahead, they could sign the defender on a free transfer, taking away the burden of paying any transfer fee.
He may ask for a heavy signing on fee but that will still be comparatively lesser than what the club would have to shell out if they were to sign him while he was still on contract at the club.
The 27-year-old, based on StatsBomb statistics from last season, he is an immaculate passer that puts him on paper with Europe’s best centre-backs.
He attempted over 83 passes per 90 minutes, putting him in the top 1 percent of all centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues.
His pass completion numbers are also in comparison with the very best and we will be getting someone comfortable at building out from the back.
Umtiti is also great at carrying the ball out from defence and playing the longer passes to the attacking players.
His statistic of 5.29 progressive carries per 90 minutes, puts him in the top 10 percent.
These numbers show what an immaculate player he is and how well he would do under Rafa Benitez.
While he may be prone to the occasional lapses in concentration, his technical abilities on the ball more than make up for it.
In other Everton news, ‘Anything can happen’ – Everton star clarifies transfer speculation after Instagram post
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on Everton and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.