BACKGROUND

Well, no one is going to say that Everton didn’t due their due diligence this summer, even though it appears some of the players being linked with the club are not quite up to the standard we are expecting.

Spanish club Celta Vigo are having some issues with a couple of players and their representation, and we noticed Everton was mentioned which immediately caused us to perk up our ears. The club are looking to enter contract renewal negotiations for two players who have deals ending at the end of this coming season, Daniel Wass and Sergi Gomez.

They are both represented by agency Stellar Group and the club has been frustrated in their attempts to get something worked out. Meanwhile, the Marca report claims that there is some interest in Wass from two clubs, AS Roma in Italy and Everton.

EVERTON ANGLE

Just yesterday we saw reports that Morgan Schneiderlin could indeed be on his way out this summer, and while the Blues do have Beni Baningime waiting in the wings, they will be looking for an established player to likely take the starting role.

Everton have been linked with some box-to-box type midfielders going back to last summer, with Marcelo Brozovic and Steven N’Zonzi the most prominent of those names. Wass is not necessarily at that elite level, but is decent in his own right.

TransferMarkt.com

The journeyman midfielder has had multiple stops in his career but at 29 has been at his best with Celta over the last couple of years. His offensive output is certainly more along the lines of what the Blues have expected out of Morgan Schneiderlin.

Interestingly, Denmark chose to go with youth over his experience for the World Cup, selecting Thomas Delaney instead of Wass. Delaney is another player that has been linked with the Toffees in the last couple of years, but hasn’t had the overall impact that Wass has.

UnderStat.com

James McCarthy has been injury prone and Muhamed Besic could be on his way out after a good loan spell at Middlesbrough. With Wayne Rooney likely leaving too, the Everton midfield as it stands is Idrissa Gueye, Tom Davies and Baningime. Adding another experienced player to that mix wouldn’t be bad.

WHAT WE THINK

Wass seems to have slipped under the radar of bigger clubs for a few years now - that is usually a red flag, especially for a player who will be 30 next summer. However, if Everton can bring him in for a reasonable transfer fee to build out the squad and get a couple of productive years out of him, this could be a sneaky good move.