Our failure to replace Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams last summer led to us being short at centre-back in 2019/20, but it’s clear we’re not going to make the same mistake this time round .
Everton have been linked with Unai Nunez, Mohammed Salisu, Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, Marash Kumbulla, Christian Luyindama, Issa Diop, Tosin Adarabioyo and Gabriel Magalhaes this summer, but Nikola Maksimović is the latest to pop up on our radar.
Transfer expert Ciro Venerato recently told Radio Goal (h/t ArenaNapoli) that we were ‘waiting to close’ in on the 25-year-old, but it remains to be seen if we’ll land his signature.
Who is he?
Maksimović is a Serbian defender who has made 72 appearances in all competitions for SSC Napoli, having initially joined on loan from Torino in 2016 and turning the move permanent for £18.9m in 2017. The 28-year-old spent the second half of his debut season on loan at Spartak Moscow (January 26, 2018 – June 30, 2018) but has been a regular back at Napoli ever since.
Maksimović made 28 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring one goal with one assist. As per WhoScored, he’s won 41/69 aerial duels, completed 93.1% of his 1368 passes, had 9/14 successful dribbles, blocked 22 shots/passes/crosses, made 61 clearances and averaged a tackle (35) or interception (30) every 28 minutes.
He’s only been dribbled past once every 163 minutes on average too. Despite having Kalidou Koulibaly, Konstantinos Manolas and Nikola Maksimovic for competition, the Serb has been a consistent figure at the heart of the defence, only missing games through injury in 2019/20 so it’s hard to see why Napoli would sell him this summer.
How much would he cost?
Maksimovic’s market value with CIES Football Observatory is €4-€7m while his valuation with Transfermarkt is £12.1m, but it’s unlikely Napoli would accept bids below what they paid for him back in 2017.
With Koulibaly having an uncertain future at the Stadio San Paolo, it wouldn’t be smart letting another centre-back leave in the same transfer window. Everton have many other players on their shortlist, so there are alternatives to Maksimovic if a deal doesn’t materialise.
In other news, Everton are signing a fantastic player to strengthen a weak area of the squad