Everton have made a quiet start to the January transfer window – but the club reportedly have eyes on yet another defender playing in Serie A.
Toffees fans are clamouring for new additions, following a bad week for the club.
Everton have been poor in the last three games, which have all been at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
What will you think about TFG if Everton don’t address their needs in the winter window? 🤔
The pressure is on The Friedkin Group according to Alan Myers…
On Saturday, Everton crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round, losing in a penalty shootout to Sunderland.
Everton remain in contention to secure European football this season, but David Moyes and The Friedkin Group will need to strengthen in order to realise the club’s ambitions for the 2025/26 campaign.
Currently, the right-back and striker positions are of paramount importance.
But it looks like Everton may also try to land a new central defender.
- READ MORE: The Friedkin Group are showing serious ambition as Everton plot move to sign England international
Everton interested in Tiago Gabriel
Currently, Everton have four centre-back options.
Those are James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Jarrad Brathwaite and Jake O’Brien.
But there will need to be a shake-up for next season, and it might make sense to bring someone in now if a deal presents itself.
And according to journalist Rudy Galetti, the Toffees are interested in Lecce central defender Tiago Gabriel.
He wrote: “More on Tiago Gabriel and EPL interest: Tottenham and Newcastle appreciate the Lecce CB and will continue to follow his progress in the coming months.
“Recently, Crystal Palace and Everton asked about his situation and about the possible terms of a future deal.”
Everton have made contact to sign Tiago Gabriel… do we need a centre-back? 🧐
Gabriel – a Portugal U21 international – has been with Lecce since last summer when he joined from Estrela da Amadora.
Gabriel has impressed over in Italy, establishing himself as a player who excels in defensive duels, but also someone with a decent turn of pace for a man of his size.
Indeed, according to DataMB, Gabriel is fifth in terms of U21 centre-backs for defensive duel success rate this season (top five leagues).
It seems Everton do have eyes on Serie A at the moment, after the club were linked with Brooke Norton-Cuffy and also Emil Holm.
- READ MORE: Alan Myers explains how Friedkin are under pressure as Everton ‘fragility’ comes to light
Gabriel style of play
Everton certainly need to add a younger centre-back to their squad this year, if not in this window then in the summer.
And Gabriel looks to be a player with big potential.
Get Football News Italy ran a feature piece on him a few weeks ago, amid growing speculation that he could be set for an early exit from Lecce.
Of his style of play, they said: “Dogged’ is the word one should ideally associate with the Portuguese. He isn’t the bulkiest player on the pitch but he towers over pretty much everyone else at 6 feet 5 inches tall. This allows him to dominate defensively and despite the tall frame, he loves getting stuck in and making grounded challenges that could lift crowds off their seats.
“He boasts a very reliable ability to win tackles. As per Fbref, he is 88 percentile in that aspect and that is no surprise considering how well Gabriel uses his long legs to perfection around the box.
“It is almost rare to see him lose challenges. He ranks 91 percentile for challenges lost, suggesting that it is very difficult to beat him when he goes into winning the ball back from an attacker.”
The publication also made an interesting comparison to a current Premier League defender.
“Gabriel is a pure defender – slightly reminiscent of Cristian Romero but he doesn’t have the Argentine’s proficiency on the ball. That could come later in his career, though.”
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