OPINION
Everton must quickly hijack Fulham’s reported offer for Southampton defender Matt Targett as he would be the perfect replacement for Leighton Baines.
The Cottagers, who had the 22-year-old on loan with them in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign, have bid £10million for his services according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster claims that the Saints are not tempted to accept the offer as they have no interest in selling him due to the fact they view him as being part of their future plans.
However with the right offer every player has a price especially one that is currently not involved in the club’s first-team set-up and the Saints could just be leaking this view in order to get more money for his services.
It seems unlikely that the Saints are about to start regularly using Targett despite his talents as current left-back Ryan Bertrand hasn’t let them down so far.
This means the Cottagers have a real chance of wrapping up a deal shortly for the 22-year-old, who appeared to enjoy his recent spell at the club, even if it means upping their bid slightly.
The Toffees must hijack Fulham’s bid quickly due to this as otherwise they will miss out on signing the perfect replacement for Baines.
Targett is a fabulous crosser of the ball, sublime passer, is a rock-solid defender as he reads the play very well and at the age of 22 has his best seasons yet to come.
The current Saints defender more than proved himself in his 18 Championship appearances for Fulham last season and it’s clear that he is ready to be a regular fixture for a Premier League side.
This a view clearly shared by the Cottagers as they are set to be in England’s top-flight next season after winning promotion.
The 22-year-old looked head and shoulders above his opponents, as well as some of his teammates, in his outings which helped him only suffer one defeat in his appearances for the London club.
Baines, 33, may have ended his 2017/18 campaign for the Toffees with some impressive performances but there were clearly signs that age had started to catch up with him.
The loyal servant can clearly still deliver the goods if his game time is limited but the Toffees need to secure a replacement for him in this window.
They need to do this as the new recruit can learn from Baines’ experience while also having the torch of being the club’s first-choice left-back passed to them.
This means that given Targett being skilled and young enough to be the perfect replacement for Baines then the Toffees must hijack Fulham’s reported bid for his signature.