After some dormancy in the transfer window, Everton have come alive in the last week, making one permanent signing in Dwight McNeil and a loan acquisition of Ruben Vinagre. Everton are now targeting their former midfielder Idrissa Gueye. The Toffees are now ready to offload Jean-Philippe Gbamin who was signed as a Gueye replacement in 2019.
Frank Lampard is unwavering in his view of further upgrading the squad and after additions to the defence and attack, he wants to improve the engine room. The Toffees have been without a solid, reliable and competent holding midfielder since Gueye left in 2019 for PSG. Three years after Gueye’s departure and countless tries to replace the midfielder, the Toffees are finally closing in on his replacement. Who is his replacement? Gueye himself.
Everton are in talks to bring Gueye back to Everton from PSG. The French giants are hoping to reduce their roster size and offload players in the window. There’s an increasing possibility that Everton will be able to sign Gueye back and probably for a lot less than what they got from PSG back in 2019.
Former Everton manager Marco Silva signed Gbamin in 2019, in a bid to fill the void left by the former Aston Villa man. Gbamin was considered an athletic and powerful replacement for Gueye. The Toffees ended up paying £25 million to Mainz 05 but three years down the line, the money seems to have gone down the drain.
Everton open to selling Jean-Philippe Gbamin as Idrissa Gueye return inches closer
In three full seasons, Gbamin has ended up missing over 600 days of football because of injuries. In fact, since his move to Everton, the Ivorian has managed to stay on the field for the entirety of the game on just two occasions. In the second half of the last season, Gbamin was loaned to CSKA Moscow, the 26 year old clocked 90 minutes in 10 out of 11 league games.
Even though he seems fit and had a solid loan spell last season, the Ivorian will be allowed to leave Everton this summer, as per The Times. On the other hand, things are progressing smoothly in Gueye’s chase.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Everton are closing in on signing the Senegalese permanently, with final details of the deal to be discussed this week. PSG want to sell Gueye as soon as possible and Everton are optimistic that they can secure the 32 year old.
During his time at Goodison Park, Gueye had emerged as a fan favourite and his arrival would certainly appease the fans. On the other hand, supporters never connected to the name of Gbamin simply because he was hardly able to show his true potential on the pitch as he was constantly plagued by injuries.
Are the Toffees right to sell Jean-Philippe Gbamin as Idrissa Gueye is closing in on a return?