OPINION
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri must splash his cash on signing Manchester United’s Daley Blind in the summer rather than pursue his United teammate Luke Shaw.
ESPN previously reported that the Toffees were closely monitoring Shaw as they’re in the market looking for a long-term replacement for Leighton Baines, and sent scouts to watch him play the Seagulls.
However The Sun have since reported that Jose Mourinho’s side were set to demand £28million for the 22-year-old, despite him making only seven league appearances this season.
The same report claimed that the club would be willing to sell his teammate Blind for half that price, with him being available to purchase for £14million in the summer.
The 28-year-old is by far the superior player given his experience and versatility.
Blind may be more of a short-term replacement for Baines but he will instantly solve the Toffees’ issues regarding the position of left-back.
Baines missed a lot of this season due to injury and as he is the club’s only natural left-back, Sam Allardyce was forced to play right-back Cuco Martina out of position.
Martina did an admirable job but the Toffees were consistently exposed, because the defender was playing in an uncomfortable position.
Blind is naturally a left-back and would stroll into the Toffees team, if Baines once again shows signs that his old age is catching up with him.
However as well as being capable of filling in for Baines, the 28-year-old defender is comfortable playing as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder if required.
Blind is also the better option for the Toffees, ahead of Shaw, as the defender has more experience of playing at the highest level.
The 28-year-old has made a combined total of 207 appearances across his time in the Eredivisie and Premier League, compared to Shaw only appearing 99 times in England’s top-flight.
Blind also has 52 caps for the Netherlands, whereas Shaw only has 7 England caps to his name, with six of them coming in friendly games.
While Shaw may be able to argue that he will eventually be able to match Blind’s statistics as he is six-years younger, the Toffees can’t afford to spend £28million on someone who might eventually be better when a cheaper option is staring them in the face.
Therefore Moshiri must opt to buy Blind from Manchester United in the summer rather than Shaw.