Everton have considered numerous options in the transfer window to date but they are still yet to conclude a single deal.
The players have returned for pre-season but you sense it won’t be long before they’re joined by new faces at Finch Farm.
What’s the word?
One area that Rafa Benitez has been targeting improvement is in defence.
The Toffees have been linked with moves for Merih Demiral and Ben White but talks have gone rather flat in the last week.
Instead, it now looks as though Everton are turning their attention to Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma.
The Frenchman spent the 2018/19 season on loan at Goodison Park under Marco Silva and could now make a stellar return.
That’s according to Julien Maynard, a reporter in France. He took to Twitter on Friday afternoon to say: “Kurt Zouma is expected to leave Chelsea this summer. In England, Wolverhampton positioned themselves but the player declined.
“Everton and Tottenham are interested, as are Roma. José Mourinho would like to get the loan (with OA) from the defender.”
Big upgrade
Silva spoke highly of Zouma during his initial spell at Everton, hailing the defender for being different to a number of options already at their disposal.
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“I am pleased because he is helping our team, he fits well in our squad,” the ex-Toffees boss began.
“He is a little bit different in terms of profile to our other central defenders — he is a little bit faster when we lose the ball — he is different to Jags, Mina and Michael [Keane].”
With that in mind, he’d be a terrific addition to the centre of Everton’s defence.
Benitez does possess Ben Godfrey now, perhaps the quickest of their centre-halves, but just imagine him alongside Zouma next season.
The pace and athleticism would be a joy to watch when you consider some of the mishaps in their backline last term.
Described as a “top-level” performer by Thomas Tuchel, Zouma has gone from strength to strength after recovering from a nasty knee injury a number of years ago.
The £46k-per-week earner is graceful in possession of the ball, completing 90.9% of his passes in the Premier League last season. That’s a higher number than every player in the Everton squad, including the ball-playing Yerry Mina.
Furthermore, Zouma is a colossus in the air. The France international won a mighty 3.6 aerial battles in 2020/21 which was more than any other defender at Goodison.
In fact, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the only player who won more duels in this regard, which goes to show just how much of an upgrade he’d be.
At the age of just 26, you sense as though the Chelsea centre-back’s best years are still ahead of him.