OPINION
Everton supporters should be thanking their lucky stars that they missed out on signing Patrice Evra as it would have been a horrible mistake.
West Ham confirmed that they have signed the left-back on Wednesday via an official statement posted on their website, but, ahead of him joining the club, the Toffees were reported as interested in Evra.
Sky Sports News claimed on Twitter that Everton wanted to hijack their rivals’ pursuit of the 36-year-old and revealed that the defender preferred to join the Hammers instead as he wanted a move to London.
Sky sources: Patrice Evra expected to sign for @WestHamUtd tomorrow. He is also of interest to @Everton but would prefer London move. #SSN pic.twitter.com/K8M3S51Egi
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 6, 2018
There’s no denying that the Toffees need a left-back as currently Cuco Martina is playing there despite being a right-back, however signing Evra would have been a huge mistake.
Sam Allardyce is being forced to play Martina there as his only natural left-back, Leighton Baines, is sidelined with a calf injury.
Martina has done a valiant job considering he’s playing out of position for the Toffees and Evra’s arrival would only have been a short-term fix for Everton’s left-back worries.
Baines is set to be back any day now with Times journalist Paul Joyce previously confirming on Twitter that Allardyce expects the 33-year-old to be available from mid-February.
Leighton Baines out til “mid February” says Allardyce
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) January 20, 2018
Evra therefore would have been in the team for a couple of games at best as Baines would instantly take his place back in the starting line-up.
While the 33-year-old has shown signs that age is catching up with him in the 13 league appearances he has made this season; Evra’s age and fitness will no doubt affect his performances for West Ham.
Therefore, Baines who is younger than Evra by three-years would have kept the defender out of the team as he knows the Toffees system and wouldn’t need to settle in.
Also unlike Evra, Baines is a set-piece specialist and can still be a danger for Everton from a dead ball situation as his legs giving up on him doesn’t affect his ability to score from a free-kick.
While it’s unknown how much Evra is earning at the Hammers, it’s probably a significant sum given his Premier League experience with Manchester United.
Everton probably would have stumped up the cash for his weekly wage as the January transfer window is closed, limiting their options, so it’s lucky that he wanted to go to London instead.
Therefore, the Toffees were fortunate to miss out on Evra, as he isn’t worth the short-term investment with Baines set to return and they honestly need to save the money in order to spend it on a signing long-term solution in the summer.