Everton transfer targets from Football Whispers: Kevin Strootman, Soualiho Meite, Ruben Semedo
Tuesday 21 April 2020 11:06, UK
Newly-appointed Everton manager Ronald Koeman wasted no time dipping into the transfer window upon his appointment in June.
The Merseyside club spent over £45m on Yannick Bolasie, Ashley Williams, Idrissa Gueye and Maarten Stekelenburg, while also managing to keep hold of prized assets Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley.
Their only significant loss was John Stones, who joined Manchester City in a deal reported to be worth £50m.
With the help of our friends at Football Whispers, whose unique algorithm tracks the likelihood of deals being done, here are a few of names who are likely to be linked with a move to Goodison Park this January...
Kevin Strootman
Current Club: Roma
Position: Centre-midfielder
Linked By: Daily Mirror
Current Football Whispers Rating: 3.6/5
Highest Football Whispers Rating: 4.6/5 (15th June 2016)
The Mirror are linking Everton with a move for Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman as manager Koeman looks to prepare for life after 35-year-old Gareth Barry.
Strootman was arguably one of the most sought-after midfielders in world football when he signed for Roma in July 2013 for a fee that could potentially rise to €19m.
His all-round performances at the heart of the PSV team had many of Europe's big clubs pencilling him in as the man to build their midfield around, but it was the Italians who moved first.
Live Nissan Super Sunday
However, in March 2014 his promising career was put on hold after he sustained a knee injury which effectively kept him out of action for two whole seasons. His stock started to drop and due to the fact it was a recurring issue it meant teams were less inclined to take a chance on the industrious midfielder.
The 22-year-old Dutch midfielder has started the current season as though he's a man looking to make up for lost time. He's started eight of Roma's nine Serie A matches and he's been back to his influential best at the heart of the midfield.
Of the 599 passes he's attempted, 91.7 per cent of them have been successful. He's won 52.8 per cent of his duels, and has also had an impact on the attacking side of Roma's game. He's created 14 chances so far this season and has two goals to his name.
Strootman and Idrissa Gueye would make quite a formidable pairing for Everton and with a Football Whispers rating of 3.6, it could happen in the future.
Soualiho Meite
Current Club: S.V. Zulte Waregem (on loan from Lille)
Position: Centre-midfielder
Linked By: The Sun
Current Football Whispers Rating: 2.3/5
Highest Football Whispers Rating: 2.3 (10th September 2016)
According to The Sun, Merseyside rivals, Liverpool and Everton are battling it out to sign Lille's Soualiho Meite.
The midfielder, currently on loan at Belgian side S.V. Zulte Waregem, has caught the eye with a string of impressive performances and reports suggest parent club Lille are prepared to sell the talented 22-year-old for £6m just three years and 30 first-team appearances after signing him from Auxerre for £1.3m.
Everton are in the market for a midfielder despite signing Aston Villa's Gueye in the summer, with James McCarthy failing to impress, Ross Barkley being out of sorts and Barry coming to the end of his career.
Meite, who can play as a traditional box-to-box or as a holding midfielder, has been a revelation in Belgium as he helped his side take a surprise lead at the top of the table.
He's the prototypical modern day midfielder with powerful running, the ability to not only spot a pass from deep but execute it with either foot, good positional sense which helps him shield the defence and pick up runners as well as being comfortable in retaining possession when pressed - a necessity in the Premier League.
In the 959 minutes the 6'2" combative midfielder has played this season he's attempted a total of 499 passes and completed 80.6 per cent of them. He's won 13 tackles and has a successful duel rate of 64.8 per cent.
If Koeman was looking for Barry's long-term replacement then at just £6m Meite should be near the top of that list. His all-action performances make him an ideal fit for the Premier League.
Ruben Semedo
Current Club: Sporting Lisbon
Position: Centre-back
Linked By: Calciomercato
Current Football Whispers Rating: 2.1/5
Highest Football Whispers Rating: 2.7 (21st October 2016)
Italian media outlet Calciomercato are linking Everton with a move for Sporting Lisbon's centre-back Ruben Semedo as the club look for a long-term successor to ageing centre-back Phil Jagielka.
Semedo has a €45m release clause in the contract extension he signed with the Portuguese club in March but it is believed Everton are prepared to flex their new financial muscle as they look to secure the centre-back, who is capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, ahead of the likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli.
The 22-year-old, who only made his debut for the club in August 2015, has been a revelation so far this season. He's played in 900 minutes of the Primeira Liga, winning 15 tackles and 60 duels, making 40 interceptions and winning 61.4 per cent of his aerial battles.
After bringing in Ashley Williams in the summer, Koeman may look further into the future with the acquisition of Semedo.
Manolo Gabbiadini
Current Club: Napoli
Position: Striker
Linked By: Football Italia
Current Football Whispers Rating: 2.5/5
Highest Football Whispers Rating: 4.7 (20th August 2016)
According to Football Italia, Everton bid £20m for versatile Napoli front man Manolo Gabbiadini in the summer. The Italian club couldn't get a replacement in so the move was put on hold, but it appears that Everton are keen to revisit this potential deal in January.
The 24-year-old, who is capable of playing a variety of attacking positions, is said to want a move for first-team football and Koeman is keen on improving the attacking options he has at his disposal and has earmarked the Italian as a Kevin Mirallas upgrade on the left-hand side.
Gabbiadini, who cost €13 million when he signed for Napoli in January 2015, is seen as a squad player for the Serie A side and is said to be getting frustrated with the bit-part role with five of his 10 appearances so far this season coming off the bench.
He's played just the 322 minutes so far this season and has just the single goal to his name. He gets 45.5 per cent of his shots on target, has a 73.2 per cent pass completion rate and wins 40 [er cent of his aerial duels.
The left-footed attacker not only offers pace, creativity and goals, but he's also a set-piece expert.
It was believed Napoli would be reluctant to sell in January after it was confirmed Arkadiusz Milik would miss months of the season with a knee injury, but Maurizio Sarri has opted to use Dries Mertens up front in recent matches.
