Everton now targeting Serie A defender after completing James Tarkowski signing

Everton have completed the signing of James Tarkowski on a free transfer but an announcement won’t take place soon. Frank Lampard has already taken the first steps to upgrade the rearguard and is now targeting a second signing in the central defence with Udinese defender Rodrigo Becao mooted as one of the options.

Since the season has ended, Everton were strongly linked to a number of central defenders. Lampard wants to upgrade the central defence as Yerry Mina is put on the market and Michael Keane’s future also remains uncertain.

The arrival of Tarkowski ensures that Everton will have an astute figure in the backline who can lead them and also remain fit for majority of the campaign. Everton has a very fragile defence with key defenders like Mina often missing large chunks of the season due to injuries.

After Tarkowski’s acquisition, Lampard is now setting his sights on Becao who starred for Udinese and is one of the cornerstones of the Udinese defence.

Everton remains interested in Rodrigo Becao

According to The Mirror, Everton are interested in signing Becao this summer. The player had a stellar campaign with the Serie A side, playing 35 league games for I Friulani. Everton want to strengthen their rearguard further and Becao is one of the players who is being considered.

No negotiations have yet taken place but Everton have already reached out to the player and it is expected that a fee around £17.4 million will entice Udinese into agreeing on a transfer. However, the Toffees will first have to sell in order to go out in the market and sign a new player.

The delicate financial situation means that Everton will have to sacrifice either Richarlison or Dominic Calvert-Lewin in order to generate funds and use the money from the sale to fund a summer rebuild.

Defensively, Becao is solid and doesn’t shy away from making hearty tackles. He averages 2.73 tackles per game. The Brazilian pressures his opponents into mistakes instead of sitting deep and waiting for the attacker, recording 13.2 pressures per 90 minutes. He won the most tackles in Serie A last season while was seventh in the same metric across Europe’s top five leagues.

At the moment, no concrete steps have been taken and there seems to be nothing beyond interest. The Brazilian also has admirers in Italy with Inter Milan and Torino closely monitoring the 26 year old. Lampard and the Toffees cannot make a move until they can generate money through player sales.

Will Rodrigo Becao also join Everton this summer?