Everton keeping an eye on German national team midfielder

Everton’s central midfield is one of the club’s strongest areas in terms of depth and player ability. The trio of Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gueye, and Tom Davies can compete with anyone in the Premier League, and the depth provided by James McCarthy, Gareth Barry, and Muhamed Besic is excellent.

With that in mind, it’s a little surprising to see the Blues linked with first team midfielders, given that between the defense and goalkeeping positions, it can be argued about 3-4 new players are needed, not to mention additional depth in the wide forward areas.

Steve Walsh and Ronald Koeman, though, are constantly looking to bring young and promising talent to Goodison Park. FC Schalke’s Leon Goretzka is one such player. The German international is coveted by a handful of teams around Europe, and the Blues have jumped into the race.

Goretzka, 22, is valued at around €20 million. In an absolutely loaded Germany setup, he already has 3 senior international caps to his name, to go along with 86 career Bundesliga appearances for the Royal Blues (interesting coincidence, eh?).

The youngster is capable of playing anywhere in midfield, including in attacking positions as well as shielding the defense. He even has a few appearances in the wide areas of the pitch.

Goretzka has 46 goals and 22 assists in 195 career games, an impressive goal total for anyone, much less a midfielder.

If a bigger club like Juventus has their hat in the ring, it’s unlikely that Everton would win a bidding war for the player. Nonetheless, with Farhad Moshiri’s backing, a new stadium, and European competition on the way, it’d be foolish to count Everton out.