Unlikely defender target linked with Everton

Everton’s search for a competent centrehalf is certainly taking them around the world. The latest name linked with the Blues, according to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport (via SportWitness), is Walter Kannemann of Gremio in Brazil.

The 27-year-old has made somewhat of a name for himself in Central and South America, and has been a key part of Gremio’s title challenge this season. The San Lorenzo product played a couple of seasons for Atlas in the Mexican league before moving to Brazil where he’s become a bit of a fan favourite.

The Argentine defender is your prototypical centrehalf, built like a brick outhouse and tackles like a charging buffalo. Were he on the Blues in the ‘80s and into the ‘90s, he’d be Toffee legend. Unfortunately, this is a new decade and challenges like the kind you will see in the video below are likely to get him sent off and suspended for a while.

Bizarrely enough, he’s only ever received one straight red card in his entire career, spanning 189 senior games! He has however picked up 68 bookings (about one every three games) and four additional cautions leading to him being sent off.

Cagliari in Serie A are also linked with the player who could be available for about €10million. With his age and playing style. he does not fit the “under 25, skillful and pacy” model of players that we are seeing Marcel Brands and Marco Silva targeting, so this one probably gets filed away in the ‘Very Unlikely’ cabinet.

Some of those tackles though, whew.