Gueye return could be good move for Everton
As PSG move closer to the most high-profile signing of the summer in Lionel Messi, the French giants will look to move several players off their books including Idrissa Gueye. Should Everton move to bring the midfielder back to Goodison Park?
While Everton have been hugly constrained in their transfer window spending and have only shelled out a few million quid, other clubs are still splashing the cash.
Manchester City have forked out around £100 million for England forward Jack Grealish and now PSG look as though they are leading the race to secure the signature of the Argentine superstar.
The French club won’t have to pay a fee for the Barcelona legend but Messi’s wages are astronomical and they will be paying him a fortune to play in Paris.
So, they need to free up wages where they can by selling and one player who might well be available at a reduced fee is former Everton player Gueye.
If he is available, would it make sense for the Blues to get their former midfield dynamo back to the club where he was so well regarded?
The Toffees have made major moves recently to strengthen their midfield which was a constant source of problems for the team ever since Gueye himself left in 2019.
Under previous manager Carlo Ancelotti the club bought in Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure in the last summer transfer window to provide much increased energy and defensive solidity.
They did that and Everton’s midfield was much more competitive and dynamic when those two were playing together, especially in the early weeks of the previous campaign.
However, both spent considerable time out last season through injury, particularly Allan who was in and out of the side most of the season.
Those absences diminished the effectiveness of the two of them and was of course compounded by the continuing absence of Jean-Philippe Gbamin.
The Ivory Coast player was signed in summer 2019 to replace Gueye after he moved to PSG, but has been virtually absent from the team because of a succession of injuries and missed almost all of last season.
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He did return just before the campaign ended against Crystal Palace and then almost unbelievably got injured in training straight afterwards. He was worryingly absent again from the Blues 4-0 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday.
If he is hurt once more and a doubt for next Saturday’s season opener, that leaves Everton short of options once more to support Allan and Doucoure with only Tom Davies being a viable alternative.
And manager Rafa Benitez does seem keen to add further central midfielders, something that the United defeat again perhaps emphasised.
The Toffees are facing a very difficult summer transfer window due to their financial restrictions and a heavy wage bill and this is making bringing new players in a real challenge.
And there are other areas of the team that are a prioirity such as right-back and maybe more attacking options.
However, if Gueye is going to be available for a small fee he might well be a good bet to provide that additional defensive nous and energy, which we all remember so well and that is still needed. And that would also allow Allan and Doucoure to get more involved in the final third where Everton need more support from midfield.