According to Spanish publication Sport, Everton have agreed on a deal of around £28.4million for Barcelona centre-back Yerry Mina. The Colombian international is reportedly set to sign a five-year deal on Merseysiders.
Mina had previously been linked with a move to Manchester United. However, reportedly the defender’s agent fees were too much for the Red Devils.
If there is anything in the story of the Blues signing the defender, then Evertonian’s will be breathing a big sigh of relief, as the centre of defence has needed strengthening since last summer. However, Everton fans will be worried that the club does not have a plan b in place in case the deal falls through, as the club has been linked with so many players this summer.
Centre-backs not good enough
Everton now have four senior centre-backs at the club in Phil Jagielka, Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and Matthew Pennington. In truth, none of the quartet are good enough to play at the heart of the Toffees defence.
Jagielka has been an outstanding servant to Everton. However, at going on 36 Jags is starting to show his age at the highest level. Towards the end of last season, the former England international was arguably the Toffees best defender. However, he had very little competition in truth.
Keane has vastly underperformed in a blue shirt since his big-money arrival from Burnley last summer. At times he has looked highly nervous, almost looking like a rabbit caught in a car’s headlights. He has gone from a player around the England squad to somebody who is struggling to convince as a Premier League defender.
Mason Holgate is still regarded as a bright young prospect at 21-years of age. However, he is still very much a work progress as he gains experience in the Premier League. The fact he has missed the majority of pre-season through injury has hampered his chances of starting in the centre of the Toffees defence on the opening day of the campaign against Wolves.
Matthew Pennington is a player who came through the Toffees youth academy. The 23-year-old has struggled to break into the Everton first-team, making just seven Premier League appearances for the Toffees.
The defender recently signed a new deal with the Merseysiders. However, there is a worry that he will never be good enough for the Everton first-team. He certainly will not be ready to play regularly at centre-back for the Toffees this season.
Last summer’s recruitment was poor
Everton boss Marco Silva and director of football Marcel Brands arrived in the summer with a big mess to clean up. Last summer’s supposed big spend left the Toffees squad horribly unbalanced and no better off than if the Merseysiders had not have spent big.
Davy Klaassen, Sandro and Michael Keane were poor investments. Only Jordan Pickford and to a lesser extent Gylfi Sigurdsson could be described as successful signings. Ironically, January signings Cenk Tosun and Theo Walcott are considered by Everton fans to be key players in the team. Both players signed on the watch of the much-maligned Sam Allardyce.
Happy with a top ten finish
After last season’s disaster of a campaign, Everton fans realise that new boss Silva needs time to implement his style of play. The Toffees fans would take finishing in a similar position to last season if it meant progress and the team playing attacking football.
The Merseysiders are odds of 4/11 to finish in the top half of the table. With the current centre-back pairing of Jagielka and Keane, a top-ten finish would be a major result for the Blues.
Everton will be desperate to sign a centre-back before Thursday’s transfer deadline. Even Toffees boss Silva has talked about the need to bring in a centre-back. If they can then I am sure the Toffees will start seeing the shoots of recovery this season.
Will Everton sign a centre-back before Thursday’s transfer deadline?
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
