Why Everton should reignite their interest in Everton Soares
Back in August, a report from Portuguese publication A Bola (h/t Liverpool Echo) claimed that Everton had rejoined the race to sign Brazilian winger Everton Soares, having been linked with the 24-year-old earlier in the year. However, the Toffees eventually shifted their focus to other targets in the summer window while Soares completed a move to Benfica from Gremio in his homeland.
Profile
A youth exponent of Gremio, Everton Soares burst on to the scene during the 2014 campaign and gradually established himself as a regular starter at his boyhood club. The versatile winger bagged an impressive 69 goals in 274 appearances across all competitions for Gremio, winning the Copa do Brasil, Copa Libertadores, Recopa Sudamericana, and the Campeonato Gaucho.
The 24-year-old’s burgeoning reputation as one of the best young creative players in the Brazilian top-flight attracted interest from a number of European clubs before Benfica eventually agreed terms with Gremio to bring him to Portugal this summer. Soares has enjoyed a strong start to his career at Benfica, registering a goal and three assists in 4 league appearances this season so far.
Soares broke into Brazil’s international set-up after the 2018 FIFA World and made the cut into the squad for the 2019 Copa America staged on home soil. The winger was one of the cornerstones of the Selecao’s triumphant campaign and finished the tournament as the joint top-scorer with 3 goals, winning the Golden Boot in the process.
Everton would surely benefit from signing their namesake
Carlo Ancelotti used his reputation to bring in some top-quality players like James Rodriguez and Allan in the summer window. The likes of Abdoulaye Doucoure, Robin Olsen, Ben Godfrey and Neils Nkounkou also came through the door at Goodison Park as Everton grabbed the headlines on several occasions throughout the summer.
The Toffees have played some lovely attacking football in the Premier League this season, registering four wins and a draw from their five opening fixtures so far. The likes of Rodriguez, Richarlison, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all come to the fore, with the latter currently topping the scoring charts in the division with 7 goals.
Indeed, Everton boast a daunting forward line with those three players in the mix. However, being a 3-time Champions League-winning manager, Ancelotti will surely know the importance of having more than one quality player in each position to cope with the challenge of competing on multiple fronts throughout the course of the campaign.
In other words, Everton don’t really have the attacking firepower on their bench to compete with the elite clubs in the Premier League. Theo Walcott’s departure on loan to Southampton has left Alex Iwobi and Bernard as the two specialist back-ups for Richarlison and Rodriguez but neither has managed to inspire enough confidence.
Bernard has been touted for an exit in January by his agent and a potential departure for the underwhelming Brazilian would open the door for Everton to swoop for a new wide attacker. Putting things into context, the Toffees should consider making a renewed attempt to sign Everton Soares during the mid-season trading period or next summer to add some much-needed depth and quality to their ranks.
The 24-year-old racked up consistently impressive numbers, both in terms of goals and assists, during his time at Gremio in Brazil and also proved his credentials in the Copa America, which is widely regarded as one of the major competitive tournaments across the globe.
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Verdict
Essentially a left-winger by trade, Everton Soares boasts the versatility to play out wide on the right and also up top as a centre-forward. That means he would offer Ancelotti with some valuable depth in more than one area across the forward line.
The Brazilian international still has his best years ahead of him at 24, so Everton should hesitate to fork out a significant fee for their namesake if they are really serious about competing with the top sides in the Premier League.
