Everton target says he not moving in January window

In the latest twist to one of the many transfer stories involving Everton, Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira says he won’t be leaving the Italian giants in January.

Everton have been heavily linked with the former Germany international star and he is another veteran player who has a good history with Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Reports suggested that the ex-Real Madrid midfielder would be a new year transfer target and was on the radar of the Toffees manager.

Today though Khedira has said he won’t be leaving in the January transfer window. According to the Daily Mail, the 33-year-old German has decided to stay in Turin and see out his contract, which is ending in the summer. This is despite the fact he has been frozen out by his manager Andrea Pirlo.

This might not suit Juventus, who are apparently keen to offload Khedira, one of their highest earners, before then to reduce their wage bill. The Italian club are not alone among Europe’s elite in wanting to cut their costs as the financial consequences of the Covid 19 crisis continues to bite.

Obviously as with so many of these stories, I don’t know how seriously we should take any of these rumours surrounding Khedira.

But regardless of that I think that after recent events, especially the injury to Lucas Digne, Everton have other January transfer window priorities rather than adding another veteran midfielder.

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We’ve looked at some of those other possibilities and it seems to me that if the club are to go into the market again in a months time, then there are two other positions that should probably be more of a priority to consider.

The first would be whether or not the Toffees need to add another full-back to provide cover for the injured Digne.

Although Everton have a young left-back in their squad Niels Nkounkou, Ancelotti doesn’t seem convinced by him or at least is reluctant to play him in the first-team.

So if he’s not sure of his young defender and wants more experience he might consider a short-term loan deal if Digne’s injury turns out to be more complicated or lasts as long as some of the prognosis indicates.

The other position that I think needs possible strengthening is the right side of the Blues attack.

Since James Rodriguez arrived he has generally played on the right wing for his new team. He’s not an orthodox winger, he lacks pace and isn’t going to run at and attack the opposing full-back. He prefers to float and wander inside to find space and prompt the team’s attacks. And he doesn’t track back and protect his right-back.

Obviously, the Colombian is in the team for his outstanding flair and technical skill, which is tremendous, but all the same it does leave the side vulnerable at times.

When Everton had Seamus Coleman fit and playing so well earlier in the season, Rodriguez lack of pace and the fact he isn’t always disciplined in his positioning, didn’t matter so much. Now the Irish full-back is out injured again this issue is being exposed much more. Leeds looked to man-mark him out of the game and inhibit the Toffees attacking threat so perhaps the Blues need an alternative sometimes to prevent an opponent doing this so easily.

That’s especially the case if Ancelotti decides to switch Alex Iwobi from the right where he looked most comfortable at Fulham and provided the natural width essential alongside Rodriguez.

Perhaps the Blues need to look at a possible additional attacker to give them another option and some additional pace. If that player can also switch and play on the left, it would help provide additional cover for Richarlison too.

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Khedira says no January move to Everton

By Matt Townsend | Nov 30, 2020

In the latest twist to one of the many transfer stories involving Everton, Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira says he won’t be leaving the Italian giants in January.

More from Prince Rupert's Tower