It has been a busy window for Everton Football Club so far during the summer of 2024. The Toffees have had several incomings and a few outgoings, including one notable sale which helped the club to a healthy profit and has given them more money to reinvest into the squad.
Amadou Onana is the player in question here. The Belgian departed Goodison Park for the Midlands and Aston Villa. The Villans paid £50m to acquire his services, a very healthy profit for the Merseysiders, who spent £33m on Onana from Lille in 2022. Everton have also sold Lewis Dobbin to Villa and Ben Godfrey to Italian Side Atalanta.
In terms of incomings, the Toffees poached a Villa man themselves. Tim Iroegbunam joined the club at the start of the window, with Iliman Ndiaye also switching to Goodison Park from Marseille.
Most recently, Everton have added Napoli winger Jesper Lindstrom to their side, who joins the club on a season-long loan with an option to buy. Rumours have been circling that the Toffees may once again turn to Serie A to add a player who could form a dream partnership with their new Danish winger.
Everton target Serie A midfielder
The Serie A player in question here is Juventus and United States of America midfielder Weston McKennie. The former Leeds United loanee is thought to be out of favour under new manager Thiago Motta, and could now depart the Allianz stadium this summer.
According to Italian news outlet Calcio Mercato, a way out of Turin this summer for McKennie could come from the Toffees, with the Premier League side having seemingly already made contact regarding a move. The report states that the 'latest proposal' came from Goodison Park, although they do clarify that 'there hasn't been a concrete offer' at this stage from Everton.
Indeed, Sean Dyche’s side are not the only Premier League club to have offered McKennie the chance to leave the Old Lady this summer. Aston Villa had an offer on the table for the American, but he decided to turn down the Villans deal, having rejected a salary worth around €5m (£4m).
In terms of a price for McKennie this summer, Everton must meet Juve’s asking price of €20m (£17m). The report explains that there 'is no other way' for Juve to agree to sell McKennie this summer.
Why McKennie would be a good signing
The 25-year-old midfielder was an important player for Juve under Massimiliano Allegri last season, despite the fact he is not in Juve’s plans in 2024/25. McKennie played 34 times in Serie A, grabbing an impressive seven assists in that time.
Should the Toffees sign the American this summer, he could form a special partnership with their new winger Lindstrom. The Dane is an impressive dribbler, who uses his lanky frame to help breeze past opponents.
With Lindstrom being a right-footed right-winger, he often likes to hold width and get crosses into the box. We could well see McKennie operate in the half spaces on the right and Lindstrom keep width for the Toffees on the wing.
The Dane struggled in front of goal last season for Napoli and did not score for Gli Azzurri. However, he clearly has an eye for goal, having scored seven times and grabbed four assists in 27 games for Eintracht Frankfurt the previous campaign.
McKennie’s proficient creativity could help Lindstrom find his best form and form an exciting partnership with the Dane. Aside from his seven assists, McKennie’s FBref stats show just how dangerous he can be in the final third. His average of 0.24 assists each game placed him in the top 8% of midfielders in Europe.
Last season for the Old Lady, McKennie averaged 1.42 key passes per 90 minutes, which ranked him in the top 23% of midfielders in Europe. Not only that, the American averages 0.97 passes into the penalty area, ranking him in the top 25%.
Stat (per 90)
Number
Assists
0.24
Expected assists
0.11
Key passes
1.42
Passes into final third
1.8
Passes into penalty area
0.97
McKennie is certainly an “underrated” player, as football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him. That is certainly shown in his creative stats last season. Should the Toffees do this deal, they could be signing the perfect player to unlock Lindstrom and create a dream partnership to help push them up the table.
Dyche already has an upgrade on £50k-p/w Everton star who could be sold
The Toffees are still looking to offload numerous first-team players.
ByEthan LambJul 27, 2024