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Could Everton ask for Icardi in Kean swap deal

By Matt Townsend

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 17: Mauro Icardi of Paris Saint-Germain scores a goal during the French cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Lille OSC at Parc des Princes on March 17, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 17: Mauro Icardi of Paris Saint-Germain scores a goal during the French cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Lille OSC at Parc des Princes on March 17, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images) /
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As Everton are weighing up what to do about Moise Kean in this summer’s transfer window, another PSG forward is looking for a new club.

That player is Mauro Icardi the Argentine striker who has not been having a good time in Paris recently and is apparently open to a summer move. So could Everton be his next destination?

According to the Daily Mail, Icardi’s agent is ‘desperate’ to get his player away from PSG and that will alert and interest some top European clubs.

This of course looks like a classic example of where an agent is seeing if he can interest anyone in his player and perhaps whether there are any potential takers if he was available for sale.

Icardi is a very good forward with an excellent strike rate and he’s scored five goals in ten matches as a starter this season, a very healthy return.

As a player he’s strong in the air, holds the ball up well and is obviously a fine finisher too. On the downside he has had a bad time with injuries recently.

The Argentine was outstanding at his previous club Inter Milan where he established his reputation in Europe scoring lots of goals and proving a top draw threat. Now it looks as though he might well be on his way out of PSG to a new club.

This situation is interesting because the Blues are considering what needs to be done about Kean. After a difficult time at Everton where he didn’t settle, the Italian forward has done well in France this season and it’s highly unlikely he will be returning to Goodison Park this summer.

PSG seem to be well disposed to keeping him permanently but his former club Juventus are also supposed to be interested in bringing the young forward back to Turin.

Swap deals have been mentioned as one way to solve this situation and so might Icardi be a player for the Toffees to consider asking for if Kean was to stay at the French champions if he wants to get away?

Well, while there is a huge need for a right-sided attacker and possibly another midfielder, Monday night’s match against Crystal Palace also highlighted the erratic finishing of Everton’s current front two of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison.

Both are good players who at their best offer plenty of pace, power and a quality goal threat. However, especially in Calvert-Lewin’s case, they do have a tendancy to miss too many chances at times, something that is proving costly to Everton.

If the Toffees can bring in another striker, perhaps without having to spend a huge amount, that would certainly appear to make sense. It would create another attacking option and provide some much-needed competition for Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison.

The Blues have been linked with several strikers recently as transfer speculation mounts including Valere Germain who they have now it seems decided not to pursue.

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There are though several caveats to any such deal for the Argentine.

Firstly Icardi’s wages are very high and that would likely put Everton off. And he could only consider a Champions League club and the Blues might not be able to offer any European football, let alone that.

In any normal situation it would be inconceivable for Everton to even think of pursuing a player of his calibre. But Carlo Ancelotti has changed that with high-profile international stars now prepared to consider the Toffees as a legitimate destination.

And last year he was able to persude a top quality but injury-prone South American talent, James Rodriguez, to swap a Champions League club for Goodison Park. Why not again?

Talking of injury-prone Argentinian strikers, one other available this summer is Sergio Aguero.

His contract expires this summer and Manchester City won’t be renewing it. Aguero’s record speaks for itself and although he’s past 30 and has had his injuries, he wants to stay in the Premier League. If he was available on a free he might represent a real bargain.

Anyway these are both unlikly deals but eighteen months ago would anyone seriously have imagined Rodriguez or indeed a player of Allan’s ability arriving at Everton?

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