Everton Opinion: Toffees should sign Matt Grimes from Swansea City
According to reports from Devon Live, Everton are lining up a double raid on Welsh club Swansea City for Daniel James and Matt Grimes.
Grimes and James have been the two standout performers in Swansea’s campaign in the Championship under Graham Potter this season and the Toffees have shortlisted them as potential targets heading into the summer transfer window. (h/t Devon Live)
While James has emerged as a consistent source of goals and assists for the Swans in the Championship this term and has attracted plenty of interest from the Premier League, Grimes has also impressed with his consistently impressive displays in defensive midfield and at left-back.
Grimes has made a total of 47 appearances for Potter’s side in all competitions this season, contributing with 5 goals and 4 assists.
Born in Exeter, Matt Grimes rose through the youth ranks at his hometown club Exeter City and made his professional debut back in 2013 as an 18-year-old in League Two.
His talent didn’t go unnoticed and the vast potential was there for everyone to see in his debut season in the fourth tier. Grimes eventually signed for Swansea City back in January 2015 for a fee of £1.75 million, though he had to wait a couple of months for his first-team bow.
Life has hardly been a bed of roses for Grimes since he left Exeter City, with the youngster struggling to break his way into the first-team at Swansea. A disastrous loan spell at Leeds United was followed by another unlucky stint at Northampton Town, where he failed to save the team from relegation in League One, despite scoring 4 goals.
Things were starting to go downhill for the promising youngster but he has really come of age for Swansea in the current campaign, establishing himself as a regular in the first-team and guiding the Swans to a 10th place finish in the Championship in his first full season at the club.
Grimes has been rotated constantly by the manager between defensive midfield and left-back roles but he has proven his worth in both the positions. In all honesty, the 23-year-old’s performances for the Swans have been really awe-inspiring, to say the least.
The youngster also bagged a host of awards at Swansea’s recent player of the year award ceremony, being named as the player’s player of the year and supporter’s player of the year, while also claiming the award for the club’s personality of the year.
To put things into perspective, Grimes has shown strong signs of developing into a really fine young player and Everton would bag a massive coup by getting their hands on him this summer.
The 23-year-old Exeter-born star seemingly has all the qualities to make the step up to the Premier League and he might prove to be a useful player at depth for the Toffees, who are currently planning a squad overhaul come the end of the season.
Taking into consideration Everton’s current scenario, the Toffees would relish having a versatile player like Grimes in their ranks. The youngster can play both left-back and defensive midfield roles, so Everton should look at him as a player who can push the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Tom Davies for a place in the first-team.
On the other hand, the Toffees will also have a decision to make on the future on veteran left-back Lucas Digne, who has fallen out of favour since the arrival of Luas Digne last summer and is out of contract in the summer.
Having Grimes as a back-up for Digne at left-back won’t be a bad idea for the Toffees, given that they will need a strong enough squad of players to excel on all fronts.
Grimes has averaged 70.8 passes per game at an accuracy percentage of 87.5, including 4.1 successful long balls, 1 key pass and 1 cross per game in the Championship this season, figures which reveal that he is a player with well-rounded passing and crossing abilities. Furthermore, he averages 2.9 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 1.5 clearances per game.
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Everton need to invest heavily in their attacking options this summer and a versatile player like Matt Grimes might save them a fortune in the transfer window, as he would provide Marco Silva with cover in a multitude of positions in the defence and deep midfield.
That said, the Toffees should not hesitate to strike a deal for the promising 23-year-old Championship star this summer.
