We are still waiting to see whether Everton can finally tie up a deal for the Napoli midfielder Allan. If the Blues can’t get him are there any alternatives?
Ideally Everton can get the Brazilian in and soon, as manager Carlo Ancelotti has been very keen to bring to Goodison Park. There is further news that it might be edging closer to being done at last.
But if the clubs can’t agree on a fee, which is what appears to be preventing the move taking place, then are there any players who might replicate Allan’s strengths and qualities?
The Liverpool Echo has mentioned a few possible candidates, so lets look at a few of them in further detail.
The first of these is Lille’s Boubakary Soumare. After the Gabriel Magalhaes deal has fallen through, I’m not sure the Blues will want to go back to the French club for another player.
Soumare seems to be a pretty strong defensive midfielder, although he hasn’t played much in the past few seasons, certainly in Ligue 1, so it’s difficult to judge him properly.
He’s a young player, only 21, so would be a longer-term investment than bringing in a player like Allan who is eight years older.
Next is a player we’ve profiled before on this site: Marc Roca. The Espanyol midfielder is young at 23-years-old and is a good solid all-round player. He can operate anywhere in the middle but his greatest strength seems to be playing slightly deeper, which would suit Everton’s needs.
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He offers a good mix of defensive qualities and attacking ability. Roca’s club has been relegated and so he might be available for considerably less than the original fee of around £35 million.
The final candidate is Montpellier player Teji Savanier. The Frenchman is considerably older at 28, but seems the strongest player of the group, at least according to Whoscored.com.
Savanier is particularly good in terms of his passing and creativity, including delivering from set-pieces.
He’s also strong in ball interception but he doesn’t seem to be a box-to-box player.
So there’s a few possible alternatives to Allan is the protracted transfer for the Brazil midfielder doesn’t actually come off.