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With Jonjoe Kenny sent on loan to Schalke 04 for the season, Everton fans were faced with the prospect of having either Mason Holgate or Cuco Martina as the only backups in the squad for Seamus Coleman.
Luckily, that crisis has been averted with the Blues close to capturing Djibril Sidibé on loan for the rest of the season from AS Monaco.
Everton set to finalise deal for Djibril Sidibe on loan from AS Monaco. Medical scheduled for tomorrow.
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) August 6, 2019
The fullback, who won the 2018 edition of the World Cup with France and has 18 caps, is expected on Merseyside to complete his medical and the remaining formalities before being announced by the club.
French sources claim that the loan deal includes a €14m option to buy, which gives the Blues a year to decide what to do next with incumbent Coleman’s deal set to expire in 2022.
Sidibé endured a difficult 2018-19 season with the rest of his Monaco teammates as they failed to adjust to the loss of Kylian Mbappe while playing in the Champions League as well, stumbling to almost the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, and narrowly avoiding relegation on the last day of the season.
The 27-year-old had been stellar before that though, and in 114 total appearances for Monaco has 6 goals and 21 assists, along with 11 goals and 7 assists in 119 appearances for LOSC Lille. Interestingly, Sidibé was at Lille in the 2012-13 season which was Lucas Digne’s last there, with the pair lining up opposite each other as fullbacks and with Idrissa Gueye marshaling the midfield in front of them.