According to Le10 Sport, Everton missed out on the signing of Lille centre-back Gabriel after failing to meet his valuation.

What's the word?

The Toffees didn't bring anyone in on a permanent deal in January, with Carlo Ancelotti's first transfer window as Everton manager going by with little action.

However, French publication Le10 Sport claim both Everton and Premier League rivals Arsenal made offers for Gabriel, but that they did not meet the valuation placed on the 22-year-old.

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The report further claims that despite Lille getting Gabriel to sign a new deal with the club, the French side may let him go in the summer if an acceptable offer comes in, and that the two Premier League teams are set to monitor his progress over the rest of this campaign.

No better than Yerry Mina

January may well have been the perfect time for Everton to steal a march on their rivals and snap up Gabriel. If the Brazilian continues to impress at the heart of defence for Lille, then naturally, the number of sides who are interested in securing his services will increase.

However, when looking at what Gabriel has actually produced for the French side this season, then it becomes clear that perhaps Everton dodged a bullet. As per Sofascore, the Brazilian has averaged 1.4 tackles and one interception per game, whilst Yerry Mina has performed better in both of those important defensive categories - he has averaged 1.5 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game.

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Ultimately, any new signing should always be about trying to get an upgrade on what you already have, and Gabriel's numbers clearly don't show that to be the case. So whilst the Toffees may have initially regretted missing out on his signature in January, the 6 foot 3 ace simply would have been a waste of money. Mina has better numbers, and has done it in the Premier League too.

Meanwhile, Everton should be thanking this ace rather than Yerry Mina for the comeback win over Watford.