Japhet Tanganga would be risky signing as Everton transfer news emerges
Everton have made an offer to sign Japhet Tanganga from Tottenham this summer, according to Calcio Mercato.
The Italian publication reported on Wednesday (30 August) that the Toffees, Luton Town and Lyon are interested in signing the versatile defender, who would prefer a move to Italy before the transfer window closes.
Sean Dyche desperately need defensive reinforcements, having been far too easy to pick apart so far this season. Their defending has come under some heavy criticism so far and the Tottenham defender has been identified as a possible solution to help end the recent struggles.
Last season the 24-year-old only made seven appearances across all competitions for Tottenham, totalling only 343 minutes of action, being an unused substitute on 26 different occasions in the Premier League, all while Spurs themselves struggled defensively.
During the 2021/22 season, Tanganga didn’t fare much better, only playing 19 times under both Nuno Espírito Santo and Antonio Conte, meaning across the last two years he has only appeared 26 times competitively in all competitions.
However, during that season he was an incredibly effective defender, falling in the top 10% of his positional peers in the Premier League for blocks, clearances and aerial duels won per 90 minutes played, according to Fbref.
Under Jose Mourinho, he found his best form, being deployed at right-back and centre-back where he used his impressive physical strength and pace to be an effective defender, however, his versatility has seen him struggle to find a consistent position.
It feels as though Tanganga isn’t quite good enough in either role to hold down a regular place in a top-half Premier League team and while playing featuring at the bottom end of the table for Everton will be a very different task, his recent struggles make him a risky signing.
Need bodies
The current state of affairs at Goodison Park means that the Toffees desperately need bodies through the door and aren’t able to be particularly picky, but Tanganga feels like the sort of typically strange transfer Everton have made from the big six clubs in the past.
If the English youth international had played as little football as he has done in the last few years for a club like Fulham or Watford, there is no way that Dyche and his team would have identified him as a potential target this summer.
It sadly seems as though Everton are going to once again be in a relegation battle and to be best equipped to avoid the drop, they need sturdy and reliable defenders. Sadly they’re not easy to come across, but there is no point in spending money on a player who may not improve you.
Maybe with regular minutes, Tanganga would be more than capable of proving me wrong, after all, he hasn’t had much opportunity to impress at Spurs, but it feels as though the Toffees could find a better option if they recruited elsewhere like they have when buying forwards this summer.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are looking at one more area to strengthen this summer according to Alan Myers