Everton reportedly have a ‘pressing interest’ in Paris Saint-Germain’s Thomas Meunier on a free transfer, according to Le10 Sport.
As stated by the report, cited by Sport Witness, the Toffees are monitoring the Belgian right-back’s situation at his Ligue 1 club with keen interest.
However, it has been claimed that Borussia Dortmund will sign the defender in the summer.
Supposed contract expiry
The 28-year-old full-back’s contract with PSG is due to expire at the end of this season (per Transfermarkt) and the report states that the Belgium international is ‘very unlikely’ to sign a new deal.
However, while the Toffees have a ‘pressing interest’ in the defender, they are joined by Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund and Spanish outfit Atletico Madrid in their supposed pursuit (per Le10 Sport).
Who would you rather have as the Toffees' first-choice right-back next season?Djibril Sidibe
Seamus Coleman
Thomas Meunier
Jonjoe Kenny
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TiF Tactics – How does Meunier compare?
In the right-back position, the Toffees currently have Seamus Coleman, Cuco Martina and on-loan man Djibril Sidibe, who has a potential permanent switch to Goodison Park looming over him (per BBC) and Jonjoe Kenny returning from a loan move to Schalke 04 at the end of the season.
With Sidibe having featured most prominently as Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice right-back in the Premier League this season (per Transfermarkt), he would be Meunier’s main competitor.
In terms of goals return, Sidibe has bagged zero goals and four assists over 21 league appearances this term (per Transfermarkt), however, Meunier has just one assist and zero goals in 16 Ligue 1 outings (per Transfermarkt).
When considering the pair’s defensive statistics, Sidibe again comes out on top against his Belgian counterpart, having registered far more tackles and interceptions in the league on average.
In the Premier League, the Frenchman has averaged 3.7 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game (per WhoScored), Meunier has, however, averaged just 1.7 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per Ligue 1 game (per WhoScored).
So, as the stats suggest, Sidibe is more effective that Meunier both offensively and defensively, however, the move could still be a good one if the Belgian becomes available on a free transfer when his contract expires in June.