Why this aggressive 25-year-old Everton ace could be a tremendous buy for Middlesbrough

Why Muhamed Besic could be a tremendous buy for Middlesbrough

Everton defensive midfielder Muhamed Besic has a big decision to make this summer as to where he will be playing next season. He found game time hard to come by at Everton last term and joined Middlesbrough on loan for the second half of the 2017/18 campaign.

Boro boss Tony Pulis was pleased with Besic’s performances last season and wants to see him back at the Riverside Stadium. But with Everton having a new man in charge in the form of Marco Silva, will Besic want to stay on Merseyside and fight for his future at the Premier League club or head back to the Championship outfit.

Besic was a relatively unknown player before he signed for Everton from Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros in 2014. He sealed his move to Goodison Park, following his wonderful performance against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup.

Roberto Martinez, who the Everton manager at that time, was a pundit for the World Cup four years ago. And while covering Argentina’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, he got to know that a young midfielder was playing as a centre-back against the likes of Lionel Messi.

Martinez was so impressed by the 25-year-old Besic’s performance in that game that he immediately made a decision to sign him. Two months later, Besic was an Everton player.

However, Besic has fallen down the pecking order at Goodison Park since Martinez left the club in May 2016. As a result, he made the decision to move out on loan to Middlesbrough in January. He really impressed in the second half of the season, recapturing his best form whilst on loan in the Championship.

When Pulis took charge in late December, he had a look at his new Middlesbrough side and made an assessment that they were leaking too many goals. The January transfer window then came around and Besic was one of his first signings, showing how important the midfielder is to him.

The main difference since Pulis took charge of Boro was the number of goals they scored. Besic provided stability to the midfield which was needed to allow their attacking players to get forward more often.

Besic was an integral part of Middlesbrough under Pulis, scoring one goal and providing two assists in 15 Championship appearances. He would no doubt be a tremendous buy for Boro in the summer. It will be interesting to see if he has a future at Everton under Silva but the door will always be open at the Riverside Stadium.