According to Spanish media outlet Sport, Everton are pushing hard to sign Barcelona centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo, and all of the signs point to him being more suited to the role under Carlo Ancelotti than Michael Keane is.
On the chalkboard
Keane has been a regular in the Merseyside outfit’s backline ever since his £30m move from Burnley in the summer of 2017, making 92 appearances in all competitions to date.
However, having come from Turf Moor, and with no disrespect to the Clarets, being a possession-based defender hasn’t always suited to England international, and he often can look a little clumsy and uncomfortable when on the ball and attempting to play out from the back.
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That was shown by his big mistake for England in their 5-3 win over Kosovo earlier this season, when his lapse of concentration allowed the visitors to score within the first 60 seconds, and he has also come under heavy criticism from the Goodison Park faithful on Twitter for his displays.
As per WhoScored, he also has a inferior passing success rate to centre-back partner Yerry Mina in the Premier League this term – 79% compared to 82.6% for the Colombian.
Todibo is the answer
Mina of course came from Barcelona, who will always insist that their central defenders are good on the ball.
That is clearly one of the reasons they decided to bring Todibo to the Camp Nou from Toulouse in January of this year.
The 19-year-old has made just the five appearances for the La Liga giants to date, having been described as being “a player with a lot of potential” by Eric Abidal when he signed for Barca.
Their official website labels the teenager as being ‘excellent at bringing the ball out from the back’, and the fact he has an average passing rate of 96.7% in the Spanish top flight this term – albeit in only 77 minutes on the pitch – suggests that is very much the case.
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Ancelotti of course had Koulibaly last season and the beginning of this one, with the Senegal international recording a passing average of 88.7% in 35 Serie A outings for Napoli in 2018/19.
The Italian coach is said to favour centre-backs who can take the ball from the goalkeeper and play out into the midfield according to The Liverpool Echo, and the stats suggest that Todibo would be far more suited to that particular role than Keane.
In other Everton news, one 27-year-old may have convinced Carlo Ancelotti that he should be one of the Italian’s first summer signings…
