Why Everton should sell Yannick Bolasie this summer
Championship club Middlesbrough are closing in on the loan signing of Everton winger Yannick Bolasie, reports the Teesside Live.
Teesside Live claims that Middlesbrough had made enquiries about a £15million deal for Bolasie earlier in the month and any loan move could now contain an option to buy.
Bolasie, 29, returned to action for the Toffees in December last year after 12 months on the sidelines, recovering from a knee ligament damage. But the nippy winger has struggled to rediscover his best form and is yet to make a senior appearance this season.
Everton have started really well in the new campaign, earning four points in the first two games as new manager Marco Silva has managed to stamp his authority at Goodison Park.
Silva, who replaced Sam Allardyce, has given the attackers the license to express themselves freely, which his predecessor failed to do so. Despite guiding Everton to an 8th-place finish, he was sacked and rightly so.
The Toffees spent heavily in the summer transfer window with Silva bringing in reinforcements to add quality and depth to his squad. The likes of Bernard, Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina, Lucas Digne and Kurt Zouma have come in at Goodison Park, but the sort of buzz the addition of Richarlison created remains unmatched.
While the likes of Bernard, Theo Walcott, Ademola Lookman, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Cenk Tosun form Everton’s attacking core, there appears to be no place for Bolasie in the team. Considering this fact, it is safe to suggest that Everton must offload Bolasie before the end of this month.
Bolasie joined Everton in 2016 after five successful campaigns at Crystal Palace, but the Congolese is yet to hit top form after his year on the sidelines following a knee injury suffered in December 2016. Following the club’s summer additions, the 29-year-old has slipped down the pecking order at Goodison Park.
There is no doubting Bolasie’s pedigree and quality as he is a proven Premier League player. He will offer blistering pace and skill to any side he plays for. Bolasie’s energy and unpredictability can carve attacks out of nothing.
The 29-year-old’s wing-play doesn’t always directly assist a goal but he keeps the ability to terrorise defenders and leave them for dead.
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But under current circumstances at Everton, Bolasie has become surplus to requirements and there is no better time for Silva than this year to cash in on the Congo international.