Everton head into their opening Premier League clash next week in a bit of a sticky situation.
They were ruthlessly beaten 4-0 by Manchester United in pre-season on Saturday so the Toffees will need to significantly improve.
However, with Rafa Benitez spending rather meagre sums so far, it’s been a rather anticlimactic summer to date.
On the chalkboard
Everton have looked to strengthen their options on the wing heading into the new season.
They’ve added Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend to their ranks but you sense they still need a signing of fairly high calibre in that region of the pitch.
Leon Bailey was linked with a move to Goodison Park but ultimately joined Aston Villa instead.
Everton signed James Rodriguez last summer but they lack quality and depth beyond that. Alex Iwobi is the prime example.
Signed for a whopping £34m, he’s scored just four goals since moving to Merseyside and such was his lack of end product that Carlo Ancelotti started fielding him at wing-back.
The solution
One answer to Benitez’s problems could be Josip Brekalo.
The Wolfsburg gem was touted with a move to Goodison Park a few months ago but it looks as though they still have a keen eye on the 23-year-old wide man.
That’s according to Transfer Market Web who suggest a bargain fee of €15m (£12.7m) will be enough to sign him. However, they will need to fend off interest from a number of other clubs including Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.
If they secure his signature then he’d represent a huge upgrade on Iwobi.
For starters, he scored more goals this season than the Everton winger has managed in his entire Everton career to date.
Brekalo found the net on seven occasions last term, taking his tally in Wolfsburg colours to 21 overall.
He also added three assists as he earned his place in Croatia’s squad for Euro 2020.
Not only does Brekalo have end product – something that Iwobi lacks – but he’s also incredibly progressive with the ball.
Described as a player who can “torment defenders everywhere” by journalist Ronan Murphy, he ranks in the 75th percentile for total carrying distance of the ball across Europe’s top five leagues.
Iwobi ranks higher in that department but without goals and assists, it rather counts for nothing.
Dismally, the Nigerian ranks in the 29th percentile for shot-creating actions while Brekalo ranks in the 67th percentile.
As a result, it’s evident why the young attacker would be such an upgrade on Iwobi.
AND in other news, Everton may repeat Lacina Traore howler by signing 83-cap gem Rafa compared to Shearer…