Everton still have plenty of work to do to ensure they head into the new Premier League season in good shape.
The Toffees have signed two new players so far this summer, with Thierno Barry and Mark Travers joining the club, after Carlos Alcaraz’s loan move was made permanent.
David Moyes wants Everton to push for Europe.
That could be ambitious, but if the recruitment is right then there’s no reason why it can’t happen.
Key to any push for Europe will be Everton being productive in the final third.
Barry has been brought in and the hope is that he will hit the ground running quickly.
But in order to do that, he will need great service, and there are already some good players around him in the form of Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil.
But the striker will likely be hoping to see one target of Everton head to the Hill Dickinson Stadium to further bolster the attack.
Thierno Barry could feast if Everton sign Takefusa Kubo
In recent days, it’s been reported that Everton have shown an interest in Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad.
Everton are said to have been in contact with Kubo’s agent about a potential move, and it is definitely an exciting link.
Everton fans would welcome a move for Kubo, but potentially he could have several clubs on his tail.
But new signing Barry will surely be hoping to see Everton come out on top in any race, because Kubo is the kind of creator players like him thrive playing with.
Kubo actually only got four assists last term. However, that does not tell the full story.
As per fbref data, Kubo had a shot-creating actions per 90 metric of 4.33. For context, that was higher than Ndiaye (2.41) and Carlos Alcaraz (3.95), and almost as high as McNeil (4.73).
According to Coaches Voice, Kubo ‘is comfortable delivering crosses for his teammates. On his stronger left foot, he has great versatility. He can whip in-swinging deliveries with pace and purpose, but also has the technical qualities to dink or deftly lift balls over the back line’.
He also has ‘Explosive touches’ and ‘rapid acceleration’ to create that space for himself before creating chances.
With Barry all of 6ft 5in, one would back Kubo to pick him out fairly regularly in the penalty area.
Kubo could light up Hill Dickinson Stadium for Everton
We will see what the coming days bring with regards to Everton’s pursuit of Kubo.
But the 44-cap Japan international really would be an exciting addition, as Moyes seeks to get Everton challenging for European football.
The ‘explosive’ 24-year-old has really impressed over in Spain for a while now, and something else that is really positive about him is that he’s played alongside David Silva.
Silva was an incredible player for Manchester City before moving to Sociedad, and would likely have had plenty of pearls of wisdom for Kubo.
It would be great if Everton were able to land Kubo, who the great Zinedine Zidane has previously called ‘a very interesting player’.
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