The Liverpool Echo reporter Adam Jones has been discussing the transfer link between Everton and Napoli’s Brazilian midfielder Allan.
According to a recent report by Corriere dello Sport, the 29-year-old central midfielder is edging ‘closer’ to a move to Goodison Park.
However, that is despite the fact the Toffees’ current offer for Allan stands at €25m (£22.6m) when the Italian outfit are supposedly after a fee of €35m (£31.6m).
In the latest episode of the Liverpool Echo’s Royal Blue: The Everton FC Podcast, Jones shared his thoughts on the transfer link with the Brazilian.
He said: “At the end of the day, you just don’t want to be seeing the club offsetting so much money on players who are just about to turn 30.
“At the same time, speaking in terms of purely Allan, this is a player clearly Carlo Ancelotti really, really likes. It was January 2019 he was getting linked with a move to PSG, when they were chasing Idrissa Gueye as well.
“It seemed to be between Gueye and Allan that they were going to go for and Ancelotti called Allan the future of Napoli back then, which was obviously good enough to keep him at the club and then PSG signed Idrissa Gueye instead.
“So, this is quite clearly a player that Carlo Ancelotti likes and he has a lot of faith in. If anybody’s going to know the physical attributes of Allan, let’s say, just how hard he pushes himself in training, how often he gets himself little knocks or injuries or anything like that…
“If anyone knows Allan physically, it’s going to be Carlo Ancelotti with the amount of time that he’s already spent with him.”
TIF Thoughts…
Seemingly, Jones believes that Allan would be a good signing for the Toffees due to the fact that Ancelotti has worked with him previously and praised him.
Do you want to see Everton sign Allan from Napoli?
Yes, he's a good player
No, he's not good enough
Judging from the 29-year-old midfielder’s stats from the 2019/20 Serie A season, it would certainly seem that Allan would add quality to Everton’s squad.
Over 23 league appearances, the midfielder made 2.2 tackles per match (per WhoScored), an average higher than all but one of Everton’s squad during the most recent Premier League season, Djibril Sidibe (per WhoScored).
Furthermore, the Brazilian had a passing accuracy of 87.4% in Serie A, a percentage higher than any player in Everton’s squad to have played over five Premier League matches.
So, those stats would certainly suggest that the midfielder would be an impressive addition.