Everton is open to offload Alex Iwobi while also eyeing Wilfried Zaha, potential talks over a swap deal could be established with Crystal Palace.
Wilfried Zaha rumours to Everton are endless. This season too, the Ivorian was instantly linked to Everton as soon as Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admitted that Zaha could leave Selhurst Park. Reports now suggest that Everton want to offload Alex Iwobi as a part of the massive overhaul. It makes me think whether a swap deal can be struck with the London based side.
It feels like the three signings have woken up the sleeping giant in Everton with Allan, James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure sprinkling gold dust on the field. There’s a joint notion that Everton won’t stop here and are still open to more additions. The recent double injury blow in central defence to Mason Holgate and Jarrad Branthwaite will shift Toffees’ attention to bolstering the defence.
However, reinforcements in the attack can be expected if Marcel Brands manages to clear the deadwood. According to Mirror, Sporting director Marcel Brands is open to selling an entire shadow eleven. Alex Iwobi is also on the list, which comes as somewhat of a shock considering he arrived at Goodison just one season ago from Arsenal for £34 million.
But looking back, Alex Iwobi has simply not lived up to expectations. Recouping £34 million is an impossible task, in fact, getting a handsome sum of money is questionable, that’s how bad Alex Iwobi was last season.
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The Nigerian’s future looks bleak at Goodison Park. The 24 year old didn’t even make it to the matchday squad of the two games Everton played so far. When he was not picked for the Tottenham Hotspur game, it was widely expected that he will start against Salford City in the Carabao Cup. However, Alex Iwobi didn’t even feature yesterday.
If the exit of the Nigerian is almost a given, he can be offered in an exchange deal for Wilfred Zaha to Crystal Palace. If there’s some truth to the rumours of Wilfried Zaha coming to Merseyside, Brands can do some excellent business by offering cash plus Iwobi to Palace to bring down the asking price. The Eagles want around £30-£35 million for the Ivorian winger.
If Wilfried Zaha does leave the Londoners, they’ll need a replacement. According to a previous report from Sky Sports, Crystal Palace are looking into the aspect of signing Jeremie Boga should Wilfried Zaha leave but Sassuolo demand a fee close to £35 million and there’s competition from Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta. If Everton proposes a player plus cash deal to Palace, there are chances they might give it a thought and even accept it.
Alex Iwobi was a failure at Goodison but a change of scenery can help him re-spawn himself and playing under a different manager in a varying style could benefit him. However, whether a deal like this takes shape or not remains to be seen.