Vitalii Mykolenko recently signed a new contract with Everton and arguably he still needs cover and competition – but The Friedkin Group could pass up a golden transfer opportunity.
Everton are looking to bolster several positions this summer.
Right-back is a top priority, but the Toffees could strengthen on both sides.
Are there any players from the relegated clubs you want to see Everton go after this summer? 🤔
Wolves, Burnley and West Ham have all lost their Premier League status…
Mykolenko signed a new deal recently which was to be expected given his heavy use by David Moyes.
But the manager had zero faith in Adam Aznou last season and expectation is that he’ll leave on some kind of basis.
One player Everton have been linked with is Hugo Bueno, but it looks like this opportunity could go begging.
Everton target Hugo Bueno in talks with Fiorentina
It was claimed last month that Bueno was one to watch regarding Everton.
Wolves had a woeful season, but the Spaniard was one of the better players for the Old Gold, and kept new signing David Moller Wolfe out of the side for the majority of the campaign.
But Everton appear to be letting a good opportunity pass them by, with Matteo Moretto reporting that Fiorentina are in talks to sign the player from Wolves.
There’s no word on an asking price just yet.
But Bueno won’t break the bank given Wolves have just been relegated, and Everton ought to be looking to get involved.
Bueno much more creative than Mykolenko
It seems that Everton could be set to miss out on Bueno, which would be a great shame because the Spaniard does provide more creativity that Mykolenko.
Bueno is actually better than Mykolenko in several metrics, including chances created, pass accuracy, crosses completed and take-on success rate.
Really, he is the ideal player to bring in to not just provide cover for Mykolenko, but also push him for a starting spot.
| Vitalii Mykolenko | Hugo Bueno |
| Appearances – 33 | Appearances – 35 |
| Goals – 0 | Goals – 1 |
| Assists – 1 | Assists – 2 |
| Pass accuracy – 80% | Pass accuracy – 81% |
| Shot accuracy – 33% | Shot accuracy – 50% |
| Crosses completed – 20 | Crosses completed – 57 |
| Chances created – | Chances created – |
| Take-on success – 33% | Take-on success – 39% |
| Ground duel success rate – 50% | Ground duel success rate – 49% |
He has at least a full season of Premier League experience under his belt, so is primed to battle another experienced player in Mykolenko.
But it seems that Fiorentina have made steps to sign the player, so if Everton are to get involved they will need to get a move on.
As we’ve seen with their pursuit of Hayden Hackney though, that doesn’t feel especially likely.
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