Everton Need Competition and Have Been Linked With Players Who Will Bring It
Everton continue to be linked with talented prospects and established highly rated players, such as Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson and Shalke’s Leon Goretzka. These players not only bring options and talent, but utility that would fit nicely into Koeman’s malleable style of football. All of these attributes result in one thing Everton are currently missing, competition.
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To those involved in football at the highest level, they understand that there a few things as important as inter-squad competition. It falls in the same category of importance as team spirit and confidence, without adequate competition, some players can become complacent and won’t push themselves as much as they otherwise would have.
The most common display of the importance of competition can be observed in goal keeping teams. All top clubs have 3 goal keepers: the main choice, then the cup keeper who will mainly play in domestic cups while trying to earn a place in the starting 11, then the third keeper who will rarely play. The 3rd choice will usually be old and experienced or young and eager, letting the other two know that there is a keeper who is either capable of taking your spot, or a keeper who is actively challenging to take your spot.
Facing 3 competitions next season, Everton will need depth.
Should Everton finally sign Gylfi Sigurdsson this summer after years of rumours and speculation, then he would bring sufficient competition to the midfield, and most notably Ross Barkley. Under Roberto Martinez, Barkley was afforded the luxury of not needing to press, but now that Ronald Koeman is in charge, he has the whole Everton squad conditioned for high energy games. Adding competition will continue this kind of development, in that whoever presses hardest in training gets the game time.
Additions such as Gylfi Sigurdsson or Goretzka will be certain to bring a competitive edge in training, and would serve as a significant boost in individual performances of others. Signings of such high quality players is what Everton will be looking at now, they will be key influences in Koeman’s game plan by contributing to squad depth.
Up the Ev.