Do Everton have any alternatives to Mina?
Reports in the media are indicating Manchester United are turning their attention to the Barcelona central defender Yerry Mina who has been a long-term target of Everton.
The Mirror is saying that the Old Trafford club are increasingly likely to try to hijack moves by Everton to sign the Colombian international.
Like Everton, United have been in the market for new centre backs in this transfer window and were previously linked with moves for Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld and Leicester’s England defender Harry Maguire.
But those players have very high price tags attached and particularly Leicester are not keen to sell, so now it seems that United manager Jose Mourinho is considering Mina instead.
This is obviously not good news for Everton. The Blues had been hoping to tie up deals for Mina and fellow Barcelona defender Lucas Digne. It seems that Digne is on the verge of joining but as yet Mina is not certain to follow him to Goodison Park.
If United join any race for him, it’s very possible Mina will still move to the Northwest of England but go the other way up the M62, heading to Manchester rather than joining Everton.
United can offer Champions League football of course and probably more money too. So if Mina decides to go to Old Trafford then the Blues need to have a replacement in mind; the question is do they have one?
In other transfer news today Fulham are edging closer to securing the signing of centre-back Alfie Mawson from Swansea. Mawson would have been a good possible fall-back choice for the Blues but it seems the club have missed out on him having put all their eggs in one basket, hoping to get Mina.
Everton certainly need further strengthening at the back as the club’s worrying indifferent pre-season form is underlining.
As far as other alternatives go there’s not a lot of choice out there. Obviously there is only a limited number of quality central defenders available.
Statistically perhaps the best central defender in the Premier League last season was Crystal Palace’s James Tomkins.
The 29-year-old rated highly in almost every area of defensive play. He’s also particularly strong in the air and at breaking up attacks, two areas where Everton certainly need improvement.
However his age and relatively poor passing ability (statistically at least) are downsides. And it’s highly unlikely Palace would consider selling him except perhaps for a ridiculous fee.
Another defender, who like Tomkins has sipped under the radar a bit, is the Brighton centre half Shane Duffy. But although he is a very solid defender and is of the right age, he has similar weaknesses in his play and would again be very expensive.
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Perhaps in the end Everton don’t need to spend a fortune on another player if they can’t secure Mina. There are some good defenders in other leagues who might well be available for a more reasonable price.
One other possibility is the Hanover centre back Salif Sane. The Senegal international has had a fine season in the Bundesliga. He’s an excellent defender and is very strong in his basic defensive qualities.
Sane might be tempted by a move to the Premier League, he is probably reaching his peak as a player and might well fancy a crack at the English league. In addition, (and this might help!?), his international team-mate Idrissa Gueye is an Everton player.
At any rate let us hope that the Blues have got some fall back plans in place if the club can’t secure Mina’s signature.