Gana on his way out of Everton
So as predicted it looks as though Idrissa Gueye’s time at Everton is over as the Senegal midfield dynamo gets his dream move to PSG. So where does this leave the Blues?
To be honest this move always looked almost inevitable once the French club had come in for him in January and Everton initially rejected their bid.
Now the Ligue 1 giants are back for him after failing to find an alternative and the Blues don’t seem as though they are prepared to stand in his way.
I think that’s the right approach and the fee being quoted of around £30 million is a decent amount for a 29-year-old who has given good service to Everton over the past few seasons.
But of course the club now have to find a way to replace his contribution and that won’t be easy.
There are rumours circulating that the Toffees’ have already identified his successor and are moving to sign him. That player is Jean-Philipe Gbamin.
According to French website Leparisien, Gbamin is being strongly linked with a move to England to take Gana’s place.
He is an athletic and tough-tackling midfielder or central defender who has made significant progress in recent seasons, first in France and now plying his trade in the German Bundesliga.
Gbamin also likes to get forward when he can and chip in with a few goals as well. He seems to be a good young player although perhaps still a little raw.
His versatility is I think another reason why Everton might well be serious about this player. And that’s because of other transfer news this week.
As in addition to Gana leaving the Toffees have suffered a further, probably decisive blow in their attempts to sign Kurt Zouma permanently. It now seems almost certain that the Chelsea defender won’t be coming back to Goodison Park this summer.
Signing Gbamin might therefore make additional sense given that he could drop into the centre of defence if either Michael Keane or Yerry Mina, (assuming they are the starting pair), are injured or suspended.
It would also save the Blues having to fork out another £30-40 million on a quality centre-back. And this situation is brought even further into focus if Everton let Mason Holgate leave again on loan.
West Brom want to take him back again for this season. I think letting him go would be a mistake as Holgate can not only play centre-back but can also operate effectively at right-back, where there is little experienced cover now that Jon-jo Kenny has gone to Germany, also on loan.
More from Prince Rupert's Tower
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- Everton takeover talk cools after UK govt doubts and further questions
On top of all these comings and goings, Ademola Lookman’s move back to RB Leipzig is also very close to completion. Presumably Everton will want to bring another player in to replace him as the Toffees’ attack is getting a little thin.
This brings me on to the Wilfried Zaha speculation. I wrote previously that I thought there just might be something in this story and it seems as though there is. Sky Sports have reported the Blues are talking to his representatives about a possible deal, so we will see…
Well whether this transfer happens or not the Toffees’ brains trust have quite a lot to sort out with just a few weeks of the transfer window left!