Is Santamaria answer for Everton
There has been a relative lull recently in transfer rumours recently after it seemed like stories were linking Everton with nearly every player in Europe!
But one player in Europe who might be moving on this summer, could be the answer to the urgent need Everton have for midfield reinforcements.
That player is Baptiste Santamaria. The Frenchman has been impressing this season in Ligue 1 playing for the relatively unfashionable club Angers.
The French side have had a solid season overall and are sitting comfortably, exactly in mid-table in the French top flight.
Santamaria himself is a very strong defensive midfielder whose performances have led to him been christened the new ‘N’Golo Kante’. Of course he wouldn’t be the first individual to be claimed as the new version of this or that star player!
He does though seem to be an ideal player for what Carlo Ancelotti wants, providing defensive cover and renewed energy and commitment in the middle of the park.
The 25-year-old has been quoted saying that he is ready for a new challenge and a move to a bigger club, so perhaps that club could be Everton.
Supposedly Aston Villa were linked with a January move for Santamaria and the price being quoted was around £9 million, which if true would certainly be very affordable for the Blues.
The question of who can or should fill that midfield enforcer role, has plagued the Toffees for nearly a year now, ever since the Blues sold their own version of Kante, Idrissa ‘Gana’ Gueye.
The Gueye transfer when he left for PSG, was perhaps the single most important reason why Everton struggled so badly over the course of this season until Marco Silva left and Carlo Ancelotti took over in December.
Of course there were other reasons, such as Silva’s flawed tactics and erratic player selections and the failure of the club to sign a fourth centre-back in the summer, but the absence of Gueye was critical to the problems that the Toffees had on the pitch.
Losing the dynamic Senegal midfield workhorse, left the Blues with a hole in their midfield that couldn’t be filled adequately.
His loss not only left Everton without a player to block, win and secure good ball, but also screen the uncertain and often brittle defence.
In addition, Gueye’s absence affected how well Andre Gomes could be in midfield. Last season, Gomes best performances were when he and Gueye were working together.
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Gana’s work rate and box-to-box energy, gave Gomes the opportunity to concentrate on getting on the ball and linking up with the Blues attack.
But from the beginning of this season, Gomes was forced to do a lot more tracking back and ball-wining work, which certainly isn’t his strength. This was especially true if he was playing alongside a player like Morgan Schniederlin who lacks pace and tends to sit in the middle, and this didn’t work well.
Once instance of this was the defeat to Aston Villa away early in the season, that indicated things weren’t good with the team. Bringing in a player like Santamaria would help solve that problem and fee Gomes to be more influential foe Everton.
Bit then there is also the question of when or if, Jean-Philippe Gbamin will return to fitness soon. If he does, will Everton need to go out and buy another central midfield ball-winner? These are questions for Ancelotti to ponder and resolve.