Prince Rupert's Tower
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Alternatives to Gabriel for Everton

By Matt Townsend

Hertha Berlin's German defender Jordan Torunarigha runs with the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match SC Freiburg v Hertha Berlin on June 16, 2020 in Freiburg, south-western Germany. (Photo by Tom Weller / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by TOM WELLER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Hertha Berlin's German defender Jordan Torunarigha runs with the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match SC Freiburg v Hertha Berlin on June 16, 2020 in Freiburg, south-western Germany. (Photo by Tom Weller / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by TOM WELLER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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As time ticks on, it appears increasingly likely that Everton won’t be maintaining their pursuit of Gabriel Magalhaes, despite all the time and effort that the club have put into trying to sign him.

So if that is the case, are there any alternative players that Everton could consider if the Gabriel deal falls through.

I’ve said very recently that I thought the Toffees should have drawn a line under this one as its pretty clear neither he or his club Lille are serious about him joining the Blues.

The Toffees have been linked with several other players recently, most often the Barcelona centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo.

The rumours about Todibo seem to have died down recently so unsurprisingly there might not be any substance to that one.

I’ve already mentioned one route to go might be to bring in a veteran defender who would come cheap and give the Blues talented young centre-halves Mason Holgate and Jarrad Branthwaite the benefit of his experience for a year or two.

If however, Everton do still want to bring in a younger centre-back who can come into the team straight away alongside one of the current crop, then one such player is Jordan Tounaringha.

Torunaringha is a very strong defender, who is particularly good at clearing the ball out of defence, blocking and winning the ball when tackling.

These are qualities that the Blues certainly need more of to compliment the current set of defenders  who are solid enough in terms of winning the ball in the air, i.e. Micheal Keane or Yerry Mina, or passing and bringing the ball out of defence i.e. Holgate. Branthwaite seems to be the one all-rounder among them.

The other aspect of Torunaringha is that he is left-footed as well, which is something that Carlo Ancelotti is apparently keen on. The Italian coach wants that balance in his defence and midfield.

He’s also young at 23-years-old, which again fits with Marcel Brands  approach and so he really does seem to tick all the boxes.

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His only minus point might be that according to Whoscored.com, he’s not the best passer of the ball. Although his stats seem to indicate he’s not bad at all in terms of accuracy and that’s another thing that is important to how Ancelotti wants to play.

The Hertha Berlin player looks pretty much an ideal alternative to Gabriel if the Toffees do indeed decide to cut their losses on the Brazilian defender.

Another possible candidate might be the Marseille player Boubacar Kamara. He is also a centre-back who can also operate as a left-sided defender too, according to Whoscored.com.

He has a good combination of qualities being a strong tackler, dominant in the air and having an excellent passing completion percentage.

Kamara is younger that Torunaringha, at 20-years-old so he is less experienced but has the potential to develop and increase his market value considerably.

dark. Next. Might Kenny be leaving Everton

Well there’s a couple of other options that Ancelotti and Brands can look at if they have made the decision to disengage from the Gabriel pursuit.

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