Thiago Motta said the player Everton are looking at signing in January reminds him of Ronaldinho

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David Moyes and his Everton chiefs are already making plans for the January transfer window.

Everton made nine signings in the summer transfer window, but they weren’t able to do everything in one go.

David Moyes admits there are still areas of his squad that he would like to improve, most notably at right-back.

The Toffees boss is also considering signing another striker, as Thierno Barry and Beto are really struggling this season.

With that said, the striker they’re looking at has been compared to Ronaldinho remarkably.

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Thiago Motta said Everton target reminds him of Ronaldinho

Earlier this week, it was reported that Everton are keeping tabs on Joshua Zirkzee ahead of the winter window.

Zirkzee has hardly played for Manchester United this season and is open to leaving for another club in the Premier League.

Moyes has been tracking the Dutchman dating back to his tenure as West Ham United manager, so it seems there is legs to this deal.

Zirkzee’s former manager Thiago Motta previously made the bold claim that he reminds him of Ronaldinho.

“He (Zirkzee) said that his idols are Ibrahimovic and Batistuta, who are two excellent players,” Motta said, via Football Italia.

“Seeing him day to day, he reminds me of the Ronaldinho I played with at Barcelona, but I cannot compare him to anyone. He is Joshua, he is special, he enjoys his football and above all works very hard in training.

“Since the first day of pre-season, he has always been the first to arrive at the camp. He has become a leader and it’s all to his credit. We just need to keep accompanying him, because he is certainly on the right path.”

Joshua Zirkzee would be perfect for Everton

Beto and Barry are out-and-out number nines, so they’re pretty similar strikers and don’t really offer anything different to each other.

Zirkzee, though, can play in a two-striker formation as a creator, so he’d give Moyes another option up front.

The 24-year-old, who came through Bayern Munich’s ranks, has even played as a number 10 and on the wing.

Such versatility would make him a really valuable addition to Everton’s squad, and he could be available for a reasonable fee.

Given that United paid around £36m for Zirkzee’s signature in 2024, they’d probably be willing to sanction his sale for a little under that, making it a feasible deal to do.