Everton should have Moussa Niakhate on high priority with Nottingham Forest in talks
Everton were among the Premier League sides who conceded plenty of goals in the 2021-22 season and Frank Lampard needs to sort it out.
Thankfully, he is already starting to make some moves to solidify his defence with the signing of Burnley defender James Tarkowski nearing completion [Mark McAdam via the Sky Sports Transfer Centre, Sunday 12 June, 11:35am] but he could need more than just the 29-year-old.
One player whose name cropped up prior to the 2021-22 season ending was Mainz’s 26-year-old Moussa Nikahate who had also attracted interest from West Ham [The Telegraph, 4 April].
But while he would be available for just £8million, the Toffees have not gone any further with their interest and they now face the prospect of being beaten to the punch by one of the Premier League’s newcomers.
Nottingham Forest have entered the race to sign the Frenchman and they are already in talks with the Bundesliga club over taking Niakhate off their hands [L’Equipe].
Mainz could be keen to sell him now while they still can as his contract at the club is due to come to a close at the end of the 2022-23 season when he would become available for free.
Perhaps Lampard was hoping to hold out for 12 months and poach him for nothing but if Forest start progressing in these talks, then we have to leap into action before it’s too late.
We saw more than enough times last season that the likes of Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey are not good enough right now to be a starting centre-half in the Premier League and Yerry Mina can’t be trusted to stay fit for a long enough period to make a difference.
That leaves just 19-year-old Jarrad Branthwaite who is still very raw at the moment and Tarkowski alone isn’t going to sort it all out, but he and Niakhate could and that’s why we should be doing far more to get involved in this transfer tussle.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are prepared to re-enter the race to sign a midfielder who they were close to getting last summer.
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