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Ancelotti confirms Everton need centre-back

By Matt Townsend

BARNSLEY, ENGLAND - JUNE 30: Tosin Adarabioyo of Blackburn Rovers controls the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match between Barnsley and Blackburn Rovers at Oakwell Stadium on June 30, 2020 in Barnsley, England. (Photo by Rachel Holborn - BRFC/Getty Images)
BARNSLEY, ENGLAND - JUNE 30: Tosin Adarabioyo of Blackburn Rovers controls the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match between Barnsley and Blackburn Rovers at Oakwell Stadium on June 30, 2020 in Barnsley, England. (Photo by Rachel Holborn - BRFC/Getty Images) /
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Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed the Blues are searching for another central defender before the transfer window closes as the club cope with an unexpected spate of injuries.

The injuries to Mason Holgate and now Jarrad Branthwaite, leave Everton very vulnerable at centre-back, obviously a key position.

Since Holgate got hurt there have been a spate of rumours about various central defenders who might be on the radar and we’ve covered stories about them. Now Branthwaite has joined him on the Goodison Park treatment table.

It always looked a pretty good certainty that the Blues would have to move to solve this problem and that this would also put other transfer activities on the back-burner.

Now the Toffees manager has made it clear publicly that he wants more cover in this key area of his team as a priority before the summer transfer window closes.

It seems that the one player he and the club wanted most of all, is the Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori. But after stories that a loan deal was on and then off again, it now appears that Chelsea are looking to use him in their move for the Rennes goalkeeper Bernard Mendy.

So if that is true then the Blues will have to look at other options. The other individual initially mentioned was Geilson Bremer from Torino.

Now several other players have surfaced. They are Manchester City’s Tosin Adarabioyo and also Athletic Bilbao centre-back Unai Nunez.

Adarabioyo looks a very good fit. He’s a young defender who can play either side at centre-back and also fill in a right-back too, which is another position where Everton need more options.

The City youth product has apparently made it clear he wants to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer after spells on loan these past few seasons.

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He presumably doesn’t feel he will get a chance to stake a claim to a first-team place now after City signed Dutch defender Nathan Ake a few weeks ago.

The 22-year-old is a similar type of player to Tomori and Holgate. He’s also had plenty of experience in the Championship with West Brom and Blackburn Rovers and in addition he would be available for a very small fee as well.

As for Nunez, the Bilbao player was linked with the Toffees a while back and now that association has returned as the Blues search for defensive reinforcements.

The Spanish defender is a strong player with good solid defensive qualities. However, he’s not as versatile as Adarabioyo and hasn’t got the English football experience, plus he’s also going to cost a substantial amount more too.

Well whoever Ancelotti does eventually bring in, it is extra central defensive cover that he wasn’t expecting to need after the Gabriel deal feel through. Let’s hope that there are no more serious injuries that necessitate more late or last-minute deals, in this window.