It was always a risky move from Marco Silva not to sign a centre-back this summer, and a recent interview from Michael Keane seems to reaffirm that.
Speaking to The Liverpool Echo, the England international spoke highly of former teammate Kurt Zouma, who the Toffees were unable to sign in the summer after the French centre-back enjoyed a successful loan spell on Merseyside.
The Chelsea defender was linked with a permanent transfer to Everton in the summer via The Express, however, following the appointment of Frank Lampard and departures of Ethan Ampadu and David Luiz, Zouma remained at the west London club.
Keane said about his former teammate: “Obviously (Kurt) was brilliant for us and a great person to have around the squad as well so I’m disappointed he didn’t come But that’s not because of anything to do with football ability because Yerry (Mina) is perfectly capable of doing that as well as he’s proven.
Indeed, it would be an understatement to say Everton made a mistake not re-signing Zouma. Despite Keane’s claim that Mina is capable of replacing the now Chelsea defender, it certainly has not been the case this season.
The Toffees have failed to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League since the second game of the season, and a defender of Zouma’s quality would be welcomed in the Everton squad and seemingly something Keane wanted to happen in the near-future.
The centre-back said: “Kurt is back at Chelsea now so that is sort of out of our control. We wish him well and he’s seemingly starting to find his feet there now which is good for him. He was a fantastic player for us and I loved playing with him so you never know in the future.”
A return for Zouma at Everton is something most fans can only dream about, and Keane’s praising words of the centre-back only go to show how much the Chelsea man is missed at Goodison Park.