Everton head into their opening Premier League clash of the season next week with a lot of preparation still to undertake.

At the moment, the Toffees don’t look ready for an assault on the top six in the top-flight and could be left behind very quickly by their nearest rivals.

On the chalkboard

Rafa Benitez has had a rather quiet transfer window with just three signings being made in the shape of Asmir Begovic, Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend.

However, there are still plenty of areas in the squad that need to be addressed before the window closes.

Whether James Rodriguez departs is a contentious point of debate but he’s not the only one linked with the exit door.

Andre Gomes could face a departure while Tom Davies has been touted with a move away as well.

Davies has come through the club’s academy and for that, he deserves very special praise. However, if he does go he should be fairly easy to replace.

The solution

If Davies or anyone in the Everton midfield heads for the departure lounge in the remaining weeks of the window, Benitez should move for Andre-Frank Zambo-Anguissa.

The Fulham midfielder could be on the move after the Cottagers were relegated back in May and the Toffees are one of the interested parties.

He’s previously been quoted at £25m which would be a mere snip for such a well-rounded footballer.

Instantly, Benitez would secure an upgrade on Davies who has failed to really take his game to the next level over the last year.

The 23-year-old failed to score all season and put in some rather lightweight performances in the middle of the park. He made just 1.2 tackles per game from a defensive point of view but his offensive play was also lacking.

Davies only registered 0.2 key passes per game and recorded 0.7 dribbles a match.

Zambo-Anguissa, on the other hand, is a monster in several phases. Described as a “machine” by Joachim Andersen, the Cameroon international made a whopping 2.2 successful tackles last season.

What sets him apart from others in his position is mesmeric dribbling. Zambo-Anguissa’s ball carrying is elite, making 2.7 dribbles per outing.

That means that the Fulham star completed 95 dribbles in the Premier League during the 2020/21 campaign, the third-best tally in the entire division behind Allan Saint-Maximin and Adama Traore.

On that evidence, he’d be a fantastic signing from Marcel Brands and co. He is a certified upgrade on others in the Everton squad.

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