Everton confirm winger on their wish list
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti and Director of Football Marcel Brands have confirmed that the Toffees are in the hunt for a winger this summer.
It’s been clear for a long time that Everton lack pace and width particularly on the right and so confirmation that this is a priority is positive news.
The Toffees must improve the pace and width in their team as well as the creative options and find more goals as they are too reliant on Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison. In addition, the right side of the team is a particular area that needs strengthening.
As part of this process, Everton need to decide on a clearer football philosphy. Do they want to be a counter-attacking side using a wing-back type formation or do they want to move to a more pressing game with a front three that has the pace and directness to make that possible?
The Blues have been linked with so many wide men over the past few transfer windows that it is difficult to narrow it down to one or two names, but in this statement the club are indicating their preference is a left-footed player in the 20-25 ish age range.
So then given that who does this leave as a viable option?
Perhaps the first choice in an ideal world would be Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey. The Jamaican wide man is very comfortable playing on the left, right or through the middle and has the full range of attacking skills and qualities.
Bailey is left-footed, fast, powerful and can both create and score goals and he would seem the ideal candidate for that right-wing role if Everton can get him.
Leverkusen might be open to selling Bailey but his value of around £31 million is a considerbale amount and he would undoubtedly have other top clubs interested in him too.
Another possibility is Silas Wamangituka who the Blues were linked with a while back. He’s another talented winger playing his trade in German football and he would also be a less expensive option costing around £20 million or so.
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Wamangituka isn’t left-footed but he’s a tall, powerful and pacey forward who likes to play on the right but can also move inside as well.
Then there’s a player who has only recently been mentioned in connection with a possible swap move to Goodison Park: Besiktas’ Cyle Larin.
Larin is a Canadian attacker who can operate anywhere up front and can offer plenty of goals and assists.
He’s a player who’s perhaps a more direct goal-threat than the other two mentioned but he does seem well-suited to playing wide on the flanks too.
Given he’s been playing in Turkey there are obviously question marks about whether he could replicate that sort of form and productivity in England. We’ve seen that issue before!
Anyway, these are three possible options no doubt there are others being considered by Ancelotti and Brands as they mull over who would best suit Everton.