Everton have had a bid for Watford’s Abdolaye Doucoure rejected. So who would be the best affordable alternatives if the Blues can’t get the Frenchman.
It seems that Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti wants both Napoli’s Allan as well as Doucoure as he tries to re-shape his midfield.
According to reports, the Toffees have had a bid of around £20 million rejected by the Hornets, who apparently want another £10 million for the Frenchman.
Watford seem to think that they are in the driving seat in this negotiation despite their relegation and given the bad blood between the two clubs, they are probably going to play hardball again.
The fee being offered by Everton seems more than adequate for Doucoure. I think he’s a good player who would make a considerable positive difference to the Blues midfield and would link up well potentially with Allan, if he moved to Goodison Park.
However, I’m not sure Everton should go much higher than that, especially for a 27-year-old who is in theory coming into his peak but probably won’t have any sell-on value. And I for one don’t want the Blues to held to ransom by Watford.
So if they won’t budge, are there any other players knocking around who are younger and could offer something similar, perhaps for a more affordable type fee.
One player worth considering is the Argentine Rodrigo de Paul. The Udinese midfielder is a fine attacking midfielder who has enjoyed a superb season in Italy, netting 7 times and contributing another six assists.
These are better stats than Doucoure last season. The Argentinian is 26, a year younger and is valued at around £18 million at least according to Transfermarkt.co.uk. That’s a lot less than Watford want for Doucoure.
He’s a player who gets forward and puts in plenty of shots per game and would seem to be a good prospect for the Toffees brass to consider.
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One other player who matches up in a similar way to Doucoure is the Lecce midfielder Filippo Falco. He’s a similar age at 28, and he chipped in with five goals and six assists during this past campaign for the Serie A club.
Falco is a player who generally operates centrally behind the main striker so he’s not an othodox midfielder as such. But he’s comfortable operating deeper in the middle as well as wide on the right, solving another problem position for the Blues.
He’s also left-footed as well, something that makes him perhaps an even better option as he can offer that option to cut in from the wing.
Transfermarkt claims Falco could be available for under £3 million, which would be a real snip, even for a 28-year-old.
Neither of these players are exactly the same but they offer similar numbers to Doucoure and are potential players that Everton can consider if they do decide to look at other possible options.