Everton have been embroiled in back and forth negotiations to sign Idrissa Gana Gueye this summer, and now a new update has emerged from a reliable source on the club’s next steps in their pursuit of the player.
What’s the latest?
According to journalist Abdellah Boulma, Everton are set for “new talks” to seal a deal for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Gueye ahead of the transfer window closing on September 1st.
Boulma tweeted:
“New talks are envisaged between PSG and Everton for Idrissa Gueye The dialogue is not broken between the three parties. Other avenues are not to be excluded in the event of failure.”
Lampard needs him badly
Frank Lampard would have been very pleased with his midfield signings after acquiring the services of Amadou Onana in the centre of the pitch, however, now that Abdoulaye Doucoure is injured it does put the Gueye transfer back into the spotlight for the Toffees.
The 29-year-old midfielder picked up a knock during the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park last weekend and the player is set to miss the next three weeks.
Despite the Toffees midfielder only being out for a few weeks, there is no doubt that Lampard will want to strengthen his midfield further instead of having to drop in quality every single time a midfielder picks up an injury, so the signing of Gueye is a transfer the manager needs badly.
Gueye has been a reliable and consistent performer for the Ligue 1 champions since making the move from Merseyside to Paris back in 2019, and last season proved that even at 32 years old he still has what it takes to make an impact in the centre of the pitch.
The £97.2k-per-week earner ranked in the top 10% of positional peers in the top five European leagues for attempted passes, pressures and tackles, while ranking impressively in the top 2% for pass completion over the last 12 months, all attributes that would be valuable in Lampard’s team right now.
Over the first three games, Everton have struggled to dominate possession with just 42.3% of the ball and could improve on their 76.1% pass accuracy. They have lost possession 142.3 times on average per game, which reflects in their current league position of 16th in the Premier League table.
With that being said, the signing of Gueye would be a good idea for the Toffees as he’d add a sense of composure and defensive intelligence to the middle of the park that is quite evidently missing.
