Unlikely rumours of Everton Onana swap for Weston McKennie

Stories circulating claim Everton might well be considering a swap deal in January sending midfielder Amadou Onana to Juventus in exchange for Weston McKennie.

This rumour is a very surprising and I think a highly unlikely one, as Everton of course only signed Onana in the summer transfer window just gone.

The Belgian midfielder was a big investment when finances were tight, costing the Blues’ around £30 million when he chose Goodison Park instead of moving to London and West Ham, who were also very close to sealing a deal for him.

Onana is certainly still a slightly raw young prospect. But, he has shown glimpses of his ability and the athletic presence, power and energy he has brought was certainly a welcome change from the cumbersome and one-paced midfield the Toffees’ have so often had in recent seasons.

The former Lille man has had some good games during the first part of the campaign (particularly for example in the Merseyside derby) when he went toe-to-toe with the much-vaunted players in Liverpool’s engine room.

There have though been other games where Onana has perhaps looked a little bit like a headless chicken unsure of exactly what he’s doing and giving away silly fouls.

In part this might be due to the fact that he has sometimes played as a number eight and sometimes as a deeper-lying six, creating confusion as it doesn’t seem that Frank Lampard knows how best to utilise him,

However, according to these rumours, Everton manager Lampard still isn’t happy with how his new-look midfield has been functioning recently.

So, one media outlet are claiming the Blues’ boss wants to make further changes and improvements to midfield in the January transfer window.

This will be a surprise to many Evertonians who would imagine that the priority for the New Year window is the strengthen the attack.

McKennie has been starring for the USA in the World Cup and while he’s an attacking midfielder his goal-scoring stats aren’t overwhelming.

As I’ve said earlier I can’t see this deal being anything more than purely speculative media chatter of the kind we’re well used to. And anyway, Lampard’s focus in January has to be on bringing in striking reinforcements.