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This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets...

According to France Football (via Sport Witness), Celta Vigo midfielder Stanislav Lobotka was near the top of Everton's list of candidates to replace Idrissa Gueye, who departed for Paris Saint-Germain in a £30m deal.

Mainz midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin was also mentioned in the above report, and as many of you may know, the Ivory Coast international is now an Everton player after a £25m deal was struck with the Bundesliga side.

Despite the Toffees' hunt for a Gueye replacement seemingly coming to an end, their interest in Lobotka shouldn't end as well.

As you can see, the Slovakia international's numbers from last season don't appear to be those of a defensive midfielder, let alone a talented one.

The 24-year-old recorded just one tackle per game on average last term, and made just 0.8 interceptions per game as well.

In stark contrast, Gueye recorded 4.3 tackles per game and made 2.2 interceptions - just how Lobotka was being lined up as the Senegal international's replacement is baffling.

However, despite Gbamin's arrival, Everton should continue to pursue Lobotka because of just how different he is to Gueye and the Ivorian.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below...

There would be no harm in signing the Celta Vigo man due to his stylistic differences with Gbamin and Gueye, meaning that Marco Silva would have another type of midfielder added to his ranks.

Lobotka seems to be a more balanced option than Gueye on the ball given his one dribble completed per game and 1.5 fouls won per game, which suggests that he enjoys carrying the ball up the pitch and actually taking the game to the opposition, whereas Gueye was more focused on breaking things up and laying it off.

Just because Gbamin has been signed doesn't mean Lobotka should be completely chalked off the list of targets, as his differing statistics suggest he could still bring a new dynamic to Everton's side.

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