The season can’t finish soon enough for Everton who are playing for absolutely nothing but pride at the moment. After a summer that promised a lot, the Toffees got off to the worst possible start under former manager Ronald Koeman.
The Dutchman, of course, didn’t last long and Sam Allardyce was brought in to add more stability. He was also given a transfer window to add a few players and improve the balance of the squad.
I’m sure he would have done things differently in the summer. The problem with Everton was they saw there was money to spend and they just went about it without the notion of how the players would fit in.
Quite a few midfielders were signed and the emphasis on squad balance was completely overlooked. But what is surprising is that the club are still being linked with midfielders despite having plenty of them already at the club.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa has had a subdued season at Westfalenstadion and could be on the move. Reports indicate Everton and West Ham are considering a move for the Japanese international.
Kagawa – stats so far
After his move to Manchester United didn’t reap the benefits, Kagawa moved back to Dortmund and enjoyed a renaissance of sorts. This season, though, he has been pretty quiet and the consistency has been lacking.
Having mustered just one assist and five goals so far, he has fallen down the pecking order at Dortmund. His slow start under Peter Bosz was partly due to the tactical issues and under Peter Stoger, he had an impressive beginning. However, an injury curtailed his season and he is yet to return.
What will Kagawa offer Everton?
Though the Merseyside outfit have a plethora of midfielders, no one has the same ability that Kagawa has. Maybe Gylfi Sigurdsson’s passing is as good, but the Japanese offers an extra dimension with his ability to dribble past opponents before delivering the final ball.
Everton have a good winger in Yanick Bolasie and a confident finisher in Cenk Tosun, so an orchestrator like Kagawa could add a lot more creativity to the team.
The move will mean Sigurdsson will have to play a deeper role, but it could suit him more than playing on the left. The Iceland international has been shoehorned on the left a few times and his performances there haven’t been impressive.
