Three potential Idrissa Gueye replacements Everton could target

1. Tanguy Ndombele

There is absolutely no doubting Gueye is an incredible No.6 in the defensive sense of the role. The former Aston Villa man has been right up at the top of so many statistics for years and this season alone, he now stands on 105 tackles in the Premier League – the most in the division.

However, a criticism that is often labelled at him is his inability to contribute to Everton’s passing rhythms, generally accused of being quite poor on the ball. His brilliant assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal against Cardiff aside, these accusations against Gueye are largely true – no Everton midfielder has made more unsuccessful passes (202) than Gueye in the Premier League this season, while he has a relatively poor 57.3% success rate in all competitions when playing long-range passes.

One man who certainly doesn’t struggle with the ball at his feet is Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele. After impressing during a 54-game loan spell last season, Lyon took the option to sign Ndombele permanently and already, it looks as if he’s destined for bigger things.

This season, the 22-year-old has averaged 57.86 passes per 90 minutes with an accuracy rate of 89.4%, while he has attempted 5.28 dribbles per 90 minutes in all competitions so far, completing 76.5% of them. The four-time France international is excellent at transitioning his side from defence to attack fast, getting the ball from back to front with an excellent long-range pass or driving forward with it himself.

And anyone fretting that Ndombele may shirk his defensive duties needs worry no more; the former Amiens man seriously impressed during Lyon’s recent Champions League draw with Barcelona, making no fewer than six interceptions, two recoveries in the opposition half and blocking a very dangerous shot from Ivan Rakitic. Ndombele’s positioning and bravery thwarted the Blaugrana time and time again, playing a key role in the impressive 0-0 draw.

The main snag from an Everton perspective is that the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham have all been linked with a summer move, and all three clubs seriously need a player with Ndombele’s skill set, making it very tough for the Toffees to compete.

It would be ambitious, but if Everton were to pull this one off, they would be getting a little bit of Gueye and a little bit of Andre Gomes all rolled into one in Ndombele.