Some Everton supporters have been discussing on Reddit whether or not Director of Football Marcel Brands needs to be looking to sign another centre-back this summer, should the Dutchman fall short in his bid to sign Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma.
The £40,000-a-week ace is thought to be our top target, now that Andre Gomes has put pen to paper on his five-year contract following a £22million permanent switch from FC Barcelona.
Talks between the Everton and Chelsea boards have also commenced over the French defender’s future in South West London, although the Stamford Bridge side are waiting on the appointment of their new manager before finalising their decision.
However, it has been claimed that the Champions League-bound outfit would demand in excess of £30million for the 24-year-old’s signature, should they look to cash in on our intent to retain his services after a year on Merseyside on loan.
If that price proves too much for Brands and Marco Silva, or Chelsea refuse to sell, u/SerStark25 feels the pair should look to strengthen other areas of the first-team before finding a new centre-back to partner Yerry Mina and Michael Keane next season.
The Blues supporter pointed to Mina’s form for Colombia at this summer’s Copa America as one reason why signing a new centre-back may not be necessarily needed, as the 24-year-old featured in three of his country’s four ties before losing to Chile on penalties in the Quarter-Final.
Moreover, Mina’s three appearances all lasted the full ninety minutes, and each returned a clean sheet during open play. His efforts against Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal et al. in the Quarter-Final even saw the 21-cap ace earn WhoScored’s Man of the Match award, after winning each of his attempted tackles, eight of his twelve aerial duels, and completed one interception.
Only having Mina and Keane as our senior centre-backs next season, though, gave most fans reason to back Brands and Silva to sign another defender if Zouma proves an unobtainable target…
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