Unsurprisingly given that we’re into the final day of the transfer window, Frank Lampard and his staff are moving fast to bring in new recruits ahead of this Monday night’s deadline.
Lampard has only been officially unveiled as Everton boss today, however, it’s been common knowledge that he was to take the role for a couple of days, and it’s likely he has played a key role in the club drawing up their transfer targets behind the scenes.
And midfield is a priority for the new manager, with Donny van de Beek set to become his first signing.
One of the more exciting names linked with the club in the wake of the news of Lampard’s imminent arrival was Paris Saint-Germain star and former Blues midfielder Idrissa Gueye.
Gueye spent three successful years at Goodison Park, before departing to join the French giants in the summer of 2019.
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He’s made nearly 100 appearances across all competitions for the Parisians, playing a key role for his team in their 2019 Ligue 1 winning campaign, their Coupe de France success that same year, as well as their run to the Champions League final in 2020.
The Senegal international still remains a key player for PSG, and in fact, no midfielder at the club has accumulated more Ligue 1 minute so far than the 32-year-old.
Yet there’s still a feeling that Everton could entice him away from the Parc des Princes, and it’s understandable why they could be keen to do so.
Despite being in the twilight years of his career, Gueye is still almost unrivalled in terms of his ability to press, harry and break down opposition attacks.
This season he’s been covering an average of 10.2km per 90 in the middle of the pitch. He’s also averaged 5.45 tackles + interceptions per 90.
That latter average is particularly impressive given that he plays for PSG, a side that dominates the ball in most matches. This means Gueye has only a limited amount of time in which he’s helping his side defend.
For context, no midfielder at Everton can better that average this season, despite the fact that the Blues have spent much more time without the ball in their league matches and have one of the lower possession averages in the Premier League.
Gueye can also better any Everton central midfielder’s average in terms of progressive carries this season, indicating that his influence at Goodison Park could go beyond just what he can offer off the ball, but also what he can bring with it too.
For a variety of reasons, Everton were never able to successfully replace Gueye, and his profile remains a huge miss within the squad. It’s therefore little surprise that they’re eager to bring the popular midfielder back to Goodison Park if there’s an opportunity to do so.
