Why Everton should beat Watford to sign Stanislav Lobotka
According to Le10 Sport, Everton and Watford have set their sights on Celta Vigo midfielder Stanislav Lobotka to bolster their squad in January. Both the Premier League clubs are likely to face stiff competition from European giants Napoli and PSG. (Le10)
The report claims that Celta Vigo are willing to let the Slovakian international depart for a fee in the region of £26million even though his release clause stands at £45million.
Lobotka started his professional career back in Slovakia with Trencin before making a move to Danish club Nordsjaelland in 2015. He earned rave reviews and caught the eye with his consistently impressive performances in Denmark, which subsequently earned him a move to La Liga outfit Celta Vigo in 2017.
He hasn’t looked back since then and has taken his career to greater heights, making a total of 56 appearances across all competitions.
Standing at 5ft 7in with a short and stocky frame, Lobotka is essentially a defensive midfielder by trade who is known for his combativeness and tough-tackling nature. The Slovakian is adept at shielding the rearguard and adding solidity to the midfield with his stamina, passing and work rate.
A technically gifted midfielder with good close control, the 24-year-old is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and shows good composure in possession.
With his ability to dictate the tempo of the game in the middle of the park, he is currently one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the La Liga. Blessed with good vision, intelligence and awareness, the Slovakian has the skill to spread out the play and pick out the right pass to set the tone of the attacking moves.
Furthermore, Lobotka excels with his ability to cut out attacks and win back possession with his tenacity and tireless running.
To put things into perspective, Everton are in dire need of a fresh face to get their faltering Premier League campaign back on track and the Toffees can consider him as an upgrade on Idrissa Gana Gueye.
The Senegalese ace has had a decent season so far but his lack of technical ability and moments of sloppiness have caused him to lose possession in dangerous areas, allowing the opposition to take control of the game.
While Andre Gomes has been one of the mainstays of Marco Silva’s 4-2-3-1 system since his comeback from injury, Morgan Schneiderlin has been well below par with his performances and has slipped down the pecking order at Merseyside.
Irrespective of what the future holds for Barcelona loanee Gomes, the Toffees should add a technically gifted central midfielder to partner the Portuguese star until the end of the season. To add to that, Lobotka can offer that little bit more in the middle of the park with his controlled aggression to complement Silva’s style.
Everton currently sit 11th in the standings and they need to improve on their results if they are to secure a Europa League spot next season. And Lobotka can certainly be a massive boost in their pursuit of European football.
That said, they should not hesitate to go forward with the deal and table an offer with the deadline day fast approaching.