Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti is expected to give the green light to Djibril Sidibe joining in a permanent deal having been ‘won over’ by the AS Monaco defender, according to Football Insider.
Sidibe has featured in all fixtures played since Ancelotti was appointed as Marco Silva’s successor in December, with the Italian favouring the Frenchman as his starting right-back in all games except the 1-1 draw at West Ham United and our 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.
The 18-cap international’s displays over those outings have left a positive impression on Ancelotti, who will spend the coming months deciding whom will be his starting option next season with Seamus Coleman no longer nailed on and Jonjoe Kenny impressing while on loan with FC Schalke 04.
Everton would be on pole position to sign Sidibe in a permanent deal come the summer should Ancelotti back a move, with the club in possession of a €14million (£11.7m) option to buy clause inserted in our loan agreement with Monaco.
The club would still be obliged to agree on personal terms with Sidibe in order to complete a permanent move for the 27-year-old, who has recorded the second-most assists of all Toffees players in the Premier League this season.
Should the club trigger our option to buy Sidibe?
Yes
No
Only defensive counterpart Lucas Digne (five) has been credited with creating more goals than Sidibe (four) this league term, despite the right-back only averaging the joint-seventh most key passes per 90 minutes (1.1).
Digne averages the most key passes per 90 with 2.4, eclipsing Gylfi Sigurdsson (2.2), Bernard (1.7), Alex Iwobi (1.4) and joint-fifth duo Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun (1.2).
Sidibe also ranks fifth for big chances created (four), accurate final third passes (153), third for accurate crosses (17) and is yet to make an error which has led to the opponent scoring, according to Sofa Score data.
In other Everton news, a BBC Sport pundit has questioned the attitude of a first-team mainstay.