OPINION
Everton should rival Ligue 1 outfit Lille for Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo as his future plunges into doubt following Pep Guardiola’s signing of Benfica’s Ederson.
The Mirror claim Marcelo Bielsa’s Lille want to sign the Chile international on loan this summer, with a question mark looming over Bravo’s position at the Etihad following Ederson’s £35million move to City.
Here, This Is Futbol analyses three reasons why the Toffees should throw their hat into the ring to sign the former Barcelona stopper.
Spaniard can learn
Joel Robles has endured a difficult season. Inconsistent at best, Robles has been fortunate to have a strong defence in front of him at Goodison Park. The former Wigan goalkeeper showed just how error-strewn he can be during Everton’s 4-2 win over Leicester back in April. In what should have been a comfortable win for the Toffees, Robles allowed two soft goals to find the back of the net past him – throwing the victory into jeopardy. If Everton are to push their way into the top six, Robles must learn and improvement is needed. Bringing Bravo to Merseyside would be the perfect remedy, passing on all of the tools of the the trade to Robles as well as becoming Everton’s number one.
Experience and winning mentality
From his Barcelona days, Bravo is used to winning trophies and that desire to win could help the Toffees push their way into the Premier League’s European qualification places. Over the years, the 34-year-old has won the Champions League and three La Liga titles during his time with Barcelona, as well as winning two Copa Americas with his national side. That success would help push Everton’s young squad on next season, with Koeman in need of elder statesmen who can pass on their expertise to the younger members of the squad.
High-profile signing, could tempt others to stay
Bringing Bravo to Goodison Park could tempt both Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku to stay in Blue as they may believe that the club is going places, with the signing of the world-class goalkeeper. Although faltering in a difficult season at City, the former Real Sociedad goalkeeper’s stature in the game is undoubted and that profile could convince contract rebels Barkley and Lukaku to remain with Koeman’s side for another season, as they may be enthused by Everton’s chances next season with the signing of Bravo.