More transfer rumours floating around with this one claiming Everton are going toe-to-toe with Premier League rivals Leicester City and Aston Villa for the signature of Boubakary Soumare.
According to this French media report, Everton will have to fight it out with the two Midlands clubs for the Lille midfield enforcer this summer.
Soumare is an excellent player with just the sort of midfield defensive skills that the Toffees need more of.
He is a tall, powerful and athletic footballer who excels at winning the ball and also has the ability to pass accurately and incisively too.
Everton have a lanky, energetic French midfield dynamo in Abdoulaye Doucoure and another combatative and hard-working player in Brazilian Allan.
Last summer Carlo Ancelotti set out to improve the energy and strength of the midfield, which had been a major weakness in the team.
He did that with those two signings and the improvement has been evident throughout the campaign so far.
But both have suffered injury problems and without them the team’s midfield lost much of it’s bite, reverting to type and so ideally the need for more support for these two outstanding footballers is clear.
The sorts of skills Soumare has are what the Blues engine room needs more of, especially if Jean-Philippe Gbamin can’t shake off his seemingly endless injury problems.
More from Prince Rupert's Tower
- Everton 0 Arsenal 1: Blues fall to third home defeat
- Further chaos in Everton takeover as other lenders not keen on 777 Partners
- Everton need repeat of Arsenal win to kick-start their season on Sunday
- More madness at Everton as Moshiri now agrees to sell club to 777 Partners
- Everton takeover talk cools after UK govt doubts and further questions
It’s not clear if Marcel Brands and Carlo Ancelotti are seriously considering looking to sign another central midfielder in this summer’s transfer window but the club have been repeatedly linked with moves for several such players.
Names have been mentioned and bandied about in particular the Juventus star Adrien Rabiot and also more recently players like Sander Berge and Pape Sarr, who is actually quite similar to Soumare but a little younger, raw and less experienced.
Soumare has apparently been tracked by Leicester who are interested in bringing the Frenchman to England and the Premier League.
Now they’ve been joined by their Midlands rivals Villa who are also keen on the 22-year-old and Everton if this story is correct.
Soumare would I think represent an excellent addition if he was to come to Goodison Park but again I’m not sure if the finances will be there to sign a player like him as well as a right-back and winger as the club are looking to do.