OPINION
There’s no doubt that Everton made great strides towards the end of last season under manager Marco Silva, but there are still areas of the team that could be improved.
One part of the pitch where the Toffees boss will want to see more production next term is out wide, where the likes of Theo Walcott, Ademola Lookman and Bernard flattered to deceive for the majority of last campaign.
It came as no surprise, then, to see Everton join the race for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. The Evening Standard reported on Friday that the Merseyside giants have joined Premier League rivals Arsenal in admiring the Ivory Coast international, who the Eagles value at £80million.
The Toffees are thought to be about to bank £22.5m for the aforementioned Lookman, who is set to join German side RB Leipzig, and Silva is keen to reinvest the money in a replacement for the Englishman.
TiF Tactics – How much of an upgrade is Zaha on Everton’s current crop?
The eye test tells you that Zaha is far more dangerous than any of the wingers currently plying their trade at Goodison Park. However, the statistics are even more revealing.
As per WhoScored.com, the 26-year-old, wiped the floor with the three aforementioned Toffees’ last season. Clearly, he is an upgrade on Lookman, who he’d be a replacement of sorts for, while he would easily beat out Bernard and Walcott for a place on the flanks.
If we accept the premise that Richarlison is destined to start on one wing for Everton next term, with Gylfi Sigurdsson as the number 10, then that leaves one more spot up for grabs out wide.
Clearly, Zaha would have the advantage over Bernard and Walcott in that particular tussle for game time. He scored more goals than the three Everton men combined last time out, while he only had two less assists than the trio produced between them.
Walcott is thought of as a very attack-minded player, but Zaha produced more shots, key passes and dribbles per game than the England international. Clearly offsides and stray touches are a slight concern, but you accept that when you have a talent like Zaha.
There’s no doubt, then, that the Palace star would be a huge upgrade on what the Toffees already have, suggesting that Everton should pull out all the stops to beat Arsenal to his signature.
What’s he done?
Zaha is a three-time winner of Palace’s club Player of the Season award, winning it every year from 2015-18. Furthermore, he is a Championship Play Off final winner, and an FA Cup runner up.
The Ivorian international is one of those controversial players to have represented two national teams. He made a brace of friendly appearances for England in 2012 and 2013, before switching to the African side in 2016, going on to win 14 caps for his country.