As far as summer transfer windows go, Everton had one of the more interesting ones compared to most sides in the Premier League, yet there weren’t able to keep hold of one of their most important players.
The sale of Idrissa Gueye to PSG for a reported fee of £30m according to BBC Sport was a move that was foreseen by many supporters, and although Everton managed to move in quickly with signing a replacement in the form of 23-year-old midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin, there is no doubt that the departure of the Senegal international will hurt the Toffees in the long-term.
However, pundit Danny Mills has named the player that Everton fans will be looking too as a remedy to forget Gueye, with that name being Fabian Delph, who also signed for the Merseyside club this summer.
Speaking to Football Insider, the BBC Sport pundit said when if Everton would miss Gueye: “No, I think Fabian Delph has come in and done very, very well and he will be very, very good. That’s what he’s very, very good at. He brings that mentality, that edge, that discipline and that know-how, how to win.”
Indeed, Delph has seemingly been brought in not as a direct replacement for Gueye, but rather as a utility player to improve the overall quality of the midfielder and the squad as a whole.
The England international’s versatility is what made him a trustworthy player for Pep Guardiola to call upon over the past two title-winning seasons, with Delph filling in at fullback and midfielder under the former Barcelona manager as positional stats from Transfermarkt show.
Whilst Delph can operate in the same role as the £22.5m rated Gueye on Transfermarkt if needed, it is clear that Silva intends to use Gbamin as the now PSG midfielder’s replacement given the similarities between the two.
At £10m according to BBC Sport, Delph is a coup of a signing for Everton in this market, though to call him a replacement for Gueye is to neglect the signing of Gbamin, who has seemingly been brought in to fill this specific role.