According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Everton are interested in Alessandro Florenzi as Carlo Ancelotti continues his hunt for Djibril Sidibe’s replacement. We’ve been linked with Emerson, Jesus Corona, Santiago Arias, Ola Aina and Bouna Sarr, but Florenzi may be attainable as his stock and asking price have fallen in the last 12 months.
What happened to Florenzi in 2019/20?
The 29-year-old has made 280 appearances in all competitions since joining Roma from Lodigiani in 2002, scoring 28 goals with 32 assists.
Florenzi’s been a regular for the Giallorossi since 2012 (39 appearances in 2012/13, 42 appearances in 2013/14, 45 appearances in 2014/15, 42 appearances in 2015/16, 13 appearances in 2016/17, 42 appearances in 2017/18 and 38 appearances in 2018/19), but he struggled for playing time in 2019/20 (18/30 appearances).
The Italian international captained Roma last season but missed 40% of their games. Manager Paulo Fonseca revealed in a press conference (h/t Football Italia) that Florenzi asked to leave in January due to the sporadic playing time, resulting in the loan move to Valencia in January.
Florenzi went on to make 14 appearances for Los Che but won’t turn the move permanent as no buying option was included in the loan deal. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport and Superdeporte (h/t Football Italia), his asking price is €12-€15m (£10.8m-£13.5m), so he won’t break the bank.
What could he bring to our squad?
Florenzi has a good eye for goal, is highly creative and is combative. The Italian international is composed in possession but isn’t one to dribble with the ball, so he wouldn’t bring a lot of dynamism at right-back. Florenzi hasn’t been at his best this season either.
He’s created 12 chances, completed 82% of his 583 passes, whipped in 29 crosses with 24% finding a teammate, made 3/10 successful dribbles, had 14 shots with only 14% hitting the target, blocked 10 crosses/passes/shots, made 18 clearances, gave away one foul every 91 minutes, was dribbled past once every 77 minutes and averaged a tackle (14) or interception (16) every 33 minutes, as per WhoScored.
Summary
Florenzi is affordable and available this summer, but he is coming off the back of a disappointing season and is 29 years of age, so is he value for money? Are there better options elsewhere?
In other news, Everton have identified another potential right-back to replace Djibril Sidibe