After signing Richarlison, Everton could be pretty active in the coming weeks. The Toffees still have some work to do on the transfer market as their squad doesn’t have the balance. A few more signings would make them a much stronger outfit.
One of the problematic areas is the centre-back position. Phil Jagielka is already 35 while Ashley Williams hasn’t been able to impress despite coming in with a lot of pedigree. Michael Keane is the only one who had a decent enough season last time.
The rest of the squad is basically players who don’t have enough experience. Recent reports indicate that Everton are keen on signing Colombian World Cup star Yerry Mina for a fee of £27million. Manchester United, though, are also interested and are set to hijack the deal.
Also read: Everton linked with a move for 2018 World Cup finalist
The centre-back barely featured for the Blaugrana last season. He made five appearances in the league but his performances during the World Cup have suddenly earned him quite a lot of plaudits.
Mina joined Barcelona in January but is still going to find it hard starting ahead of Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti.
Yerry Mina – What will he add to Everton?
Mina showed in the World Cup that he is a pretty complete defender. Pretty tall and supreme in the air, Mina also has the composure on the ball and his distribution from the back is something Marco Silva and the other managers will look at.
Mina had impressive stats in the handful of games he played last season for Barcelona and Colombia. He recorded as many as two tackles a game for the Blaugrana and his passing accuracy was impressive at 92.6%.
During the World Cup, he was virtually unstoppable in the air and won 4.7 aerial duels a game. His set-piece threat was impressive as he managed three goals, the highest by any defender in the World Cup.
If he signs for Everton, he could forge a solid partnership with Keane. Everton’s last best centre-half pairing was arguably that of Lescott and Jagielka.
Signing Mina, though, won’t be easy. Gerard Pique is 31 already and Barcelona will do everything they can to integrate Mina to the team. He is the long-term replacement for Pique.
Everton, though, can guarantee first tea, football. If Mina signs for them, it’s pretty likely that Williams will be restricted to a backup role.
Mina is contracted to Barcelona until 2023, so he will cost quite a lot of money.
Stats via Whoscored
