Jean-Philippe Gbamin attracting loan interest from Serie A side as Everton plan midfield rejig

Rafa Benitez overhauled the full back department as Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko have arrived in January. After the early business carried out in January, Everton are now focusing on offloading players while also maintaining room for one more arrival, preferably in the midfield. Jean-Philippe Gbamin has been informed that he can leave in this window with a potential loan move on the cards.

Gbamin’s Everton career has been crippled by injuries. The Goodison faithful never got a chance to witness Gbamin’s quantities and it seems they may never get a chance. The Ivorian is attracting interest from Germany and Italy with a potential loan move on the cards.

Perhaps, change of air and place may bring good omens for Gbamin who has been struck with misfortune on the fitness front ever since he stepped onto the Goodison grass. Despite his perilous injury record, Gbamin is on the list of several clubs. AS Roma are one of them.

According to Corriere Dello Sport, Jose Mourinho continues to search for midfield reinforcements for the second half of the season. Understandably, Boubacar Kamara is the first choice target, a player whose contract will expire at Marseille in the summer.

Roma are interested in Jean-Philippe Gbamin as Everton plan to bolster midfield

However, the Giallorossi are keeping an eye on the alternatives too. Signing Gbamin on a short loan deal is an option that could be activated by Roma if they decide to pursue Kamara only in the summer when he becomes a free agent.

Benitez now plans to strengthen the midfield. Fabian Delph will see out his contract and leave at the end of the season and Gbamin has been deemed surplus to requirements. Tom Davies and Andre Gomes are largely considered as options off the bench. All of these points to bringing another midfielder that can fit in the system.

Shouts of Sean Longstaff are getting louder with each passing day. The Toffees have seen their first bid rejected as Newcastle United hope to keep the 24 year old and tie him to a new deal. Denis Zakaria is another name that revolves in the Everton circles but with bigger sharks in the sea, it is unlikely that the Swiss international will end up at Everton.

Bruno Guimaraes has been linked most recently. While some of these may just be products of the rumour mill, it does indicate Everton’s stance. Tactically, Everton have often suffered in a two man midfield with Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure failing to go up against a well oiled midfield, most recently against Brighton.

Individually, Allan and Doucoure might have great games but it has been a while since we have seen Everton dominate the midfield battle. However, the deficiencies have almost been instantly rectified when playing a midfield three.

In the emphatic 2-1 win against Arsenal, the Toffees managed to revive themselves after Gomes was introduced, adding an extra man in the midfield. There have been several instances where such a tweak has yielded sweet fruits.

For the current system to function efficiently a third midfielder is needed and the Royal Blues are searching exactly that in this window.

Will Everton make a midfield addition in the January transfer window?