Pape Gueye: Why midfielder's Senegal fury makes him perfect for Everton
Everton are being linked with a move for Villarreal and Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye.
The 27-year-old is on the Toffees' radar this summer as David Moyes looks to reinforce his engine room.
Hayden Hackney has already made his way to the Blues from Middlesbrough, but the Merseyside outfit may not be done yet with their squad overhaul.
Pape has emerged as a target at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with the midfielder playing a key role for Pape Thiaw's team at the 2026 World Cup.
Senegal barely made it to the last 32 of the tournament in North America as one of the best third-placed teams and almost reached the next round before a late heartbreak against Belgium.
With the Lions on Teranga out of the tournament, the Villarreal ace may not feature for them for the foreseeable future, which would be perfect for the Merseyside outfit, who were severely affected by the likes of Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye going off for international duty midway through the season.
Why Pape Gueye was furious after Senegal loss vs Belgium
On 2 July, according to journalist Christian Vaquero, who is followed by the likes of ESPN's Sid Lowe on X, the Toffees have joined the race for Pape and have expressed their interest.
With Senegal leading 2-0, Thiaw's first change came in the 66th minute, with Lamine Camara replacing the Villarreal star in the midfield.
The African nation's manager then took off Iliman Ndiaye and Habib Diarra before Belgium bounced back.
As widely reported by major news outlets, Pape subsequently announced on his Instagram story that he wouldn't represent his nation again until the current management left, expressing his discontent with the head coach.
Thiaw's decision to bring on Camara backfired, with the 22-year-old Monaco midfielder failing to take control of the game and then conceding the last-minute penalty, which Youri Tielemans scored to win the game.
How Pape Gueye would differ from Idrissa Gueye at Everton
While Pape has featured as a defensive-midfielder at Villarreal, his profile is completely different from that of his namesake at Everton.
The 36-year-old mostly operated in the defensive thirds of the pitch for the Blues, using his anticipation to win the ball back.
On the other hand, Pape's strengths in LaLiga have been his ability to push forward and assist in the final third, while also providing defensive cover as a box-to-box midfielder.