With Everton having won five, drawn four and lost eight of their 17 Premier League games so far this season, the upcoming January transfer window could provide Rafa Benitez with the opportunity to make some changes to his squad to help them turn their fortunes around and end the season on a high.

In a recent transfer mailbag report on Everton from The Athletic, they claimed that there are "whispers of interest" from the Merseyside club in signing Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria.

Since joining Monchengladbach back in the 2017 summer transfer window from Young Boys, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £24.3m according to Transfermarkt has made a total of 144 appearances across all competitions, scoring 11 goals and providing eight assists along the way.

Labelled as a "complete" player by former Monchengladbach manager Marco Rose, Zakaria has been likened to Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos in terms of his playing style by Lothar Matthaus.

If these reported whispers of interest were to come to fruition next month, not only would this give the Toffees the chance to sign a midfielder that has some Champions League experience under his belt, but it could also give them the chance to get rid of current Everton midfielder Andre Gomes at the same time.

With a significant injury record and an uninspiring overall season rating of 6.2/10 according to WhoScored, making him one of Everton's lowest-rated players in the Premier League this season, it could be time to call an end to his time at Goodison Park, especially if they manage to secure the signing of Zakaria.

It's not just this season that Gomes has failed to impress at Everton either with journalist Chris Beesley highlighting how much the midfielder was "struggling" in the team last season.

Taking all of this into account, Everton should definitely explore the possibility of signing Zakaria in January to see if he can perform alongside the likes of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure in their midfield and possibly bring an end to Gomes' career with the Toffees if they are able to find a club that would be willing to buy him.

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