Everton have renewed their interest in LOSC Lille defender Adama Soumaoro, who has two more years left on his contract with the Ligue 1 club.
According to a report from a French-based outlet LA VDN, Soumaoro’s agent is in talks with Premier League clubs in Everton and Crystal Palace while the French club has asked for a price between 12 and 15 million Euros for the right-footed centre-back.
The 27-year-old has also garnered interest from Serie A club Lazio but prefers England as his next destination, the report adds.
The French-born defender made 22 appearances playing a total of 1825 minutes across all competitions in the recently concluded campaign.
What will he add to the team?
Toffees boss Marco Silva will look to add to his squad in the summer after an inconsistent run last season which ended in an 8th place finish in the Premier League.
Failure to qualify for European football after spending heavily in the summer has raised concerns, though there was good progress shown towards the end of the season as the players got more used to the new manager’s system.
Soumaoro, who primarily features as a centre-back and possesses the versatility to play on either flank in the defensive back line, will provide a major boost to the Toffees dressing room.
The Lille man is technically astute and likes to play short passes. He also boasts decent passing range under his belt, averaging an excellent pass success rate of 94.3% with 0.2 key passes and 2 long balls per game last season.
His reading of the game and anticipatory skills mean he doesn’t dive into tackles in a reckless manner and instead prefers to read the game ahead of his opposition.
He managed 0.7 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 0.9 blocks and 4.4 clearances per game which highlights his cautious nature in dealing with the danger in and around the penalty area.
The defender who stands at 6ft 1in also possesses excellent aerial prowess which could be beneficial seeing the physicality of the Premier League. He managed 2 successful aerial duels per game across all competitions last term.
With the departure of Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka confirmed and Kurt Zouma returning to his parent club Chelsea, the Everton manager will be short of options at the back.
Yerry Mina and Michael Keane will be key players next season, but that’s not enough as the Toffees will hope to challenge for European places in the upcoming season.
The Lille defender could be a good addition to the Merseyside club even though he is far from being an obvious choice.
Stat Courtesy: Transfermarkt, Whoscored
