Why Matias Vecino would be an excellent signing for Everton

According to Sempre Inter (h/t The Liverpool Echo), Everton are interested in signing Inter Milan midfielder Matias Vecino.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has expressed an interest in signing the Uruguay international, who isn’t entirely convinced if Everton is the right move since he could be used in a swap deal with Tottenham which would see Christian Eriksen go the opposite way, the report adds. (h/t The Liverpool Echo)

Matias Vecino, 28, joined Inter Milan from Fiorentina in the summer of 2017 and has since then featured 80 times across all competitions, scoring 10 goals in the process. He has played 14 league games this season, bagging a goal and two assists.

With the Uruguayan helping Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan sit top of the table, Everton must do everything possible to convince the midfielder to sign for them.

The Toffees responded with a Premier League victory over Brighton on Saturday after their disappointing FA Cup defeat to Liverpool.

With Andre Gomes (ankle) and Jean-Philippe Gbamin (thigh) out for the long-term, Everton have a crippling lack of options in midfield and the matter of fact is the current players haven’t done anything special to convince Ancelotti.

Gylfi Sigurdsson underperformed against Liverpool and was substituted after an hour. Fabian Delph has been in and out of the team, while Morgan Schneiderlin, who has recently returned from injury, has been inconsistent all season.

Tom Davies’ form has also dipped of late, meaning there’s enough room for improvement as far as the Merseysiders’ midfield is concerned.

That’s when the signing of Matias Vecino would make sense. Vecino is something of an all-action midfielder, who combines excellent attacking creativity with sound defence too.

Technically sound and composed in possession, the Uruguayan loves to make driving runs from midfield and arrive late in the box to score goals.

The former Fiorentina man is an intelligent player, who can operate in different positions across the midfield. As per WhoScored, Vecino has averaged 1.9 tackles, 1 interception, 1.1 clearances and 0.1 blocks in the Serie A this season.

Apart from two assists and a goal, he has also registered 1.1 shots per game, 0.8 key passes and 0.2 dribbles.

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In the video below, one can get a glimpse of the 28-year-old’s distributing skills and ability to break the opposition’s play.

Verdict

At the age of 28, Vecino is operating in his prime and would be an upgrade on the ageing midfield options Everton currently have. The Uruguay international is richly experienced and would undoubtedly strengthen one of Ancelotti’s problematic areas of the squad.