According to The Athletic, Everton have pulled out of the race to sign Fiyako Tomori. The 22-year-old wants regular playing time this season which is something we can’t promise him, so it appears we’re turning our attentions elsewhere.
Tomori’s future at Chelsea is still uncertain and he could be loaned out for the campaign, but The Athletic say he’s more likely to join a side that can give him a starting place at centre-back. Would Tomori get in ahead of Michael Keane, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate? Probably not.
We must avoid a situation like last season
After Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams were released following the expiration of their contracts last summer, we were left with Yerry Mina, Michael Keane and Maon Holgate at centre-back.
Lewis Gibson barely featured in 2019/20 and spent the second half of the season on loan at Fleetwood Town while Jarrad Branthwaite was on loan until the new year and didn’t get his breakthrough for us until June, so we’ve needed a fourth centre-back for some time.
We failed to bring in another defender last season and opted for internal solutions to solve our lack of depth, but we can’t make the same mistake this time. Unfortunately, the summer transfer window shuts in 11 days and we’ve yet to close in on anybody.
Who else could we sign?
We’ve been linked with John Stones, Unai Nunez, Mohammed Salisu, Branislav Ivanovic, Jean-Clair Todibo, John Stones, Wesley Fofana, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mykola Matviyenko, Morata, Thiago Silva, Gian Marco Ferrari, Kristoffer Ajer, Marash Kumbulla, Christian Luyindama, Issa Diop, Dael Fry, Fiyako Tomori, Nikola Maksimović, Diego Godin and Tosin Adarabioyo, but it remains to be seen who we’ll get.
The Athletic say we’re looking for defenders based in Europe that are young and willing to develop in the Premier League. We’re also considering ageing centre-backs who are open to playing in a backup role and don’t mind about having extended periods out of the side.
Time will tell if we can get a deal over the line before October 5, however, as we’re made little progress in more than a year.
In other news, Everton could sign Jean-Clair Todibo and Barcelona have stated his asking price