Why Lucas Ocampos would be a quality signing for Everton in January
Back in August, The Athletic reporter David Ornstein (h/t Liverpool Echo) had claimed that Everton were interested in securing the services of Sevilla winger Lucas Ocampos before the summer deadline. The Argentine international was also linked with a move to Manchester United but a move to English football never quite materialised for the Europa League winner.
Profile
Lucas Ocampos started his footballing education at Quilmes in Argentina before turning professional with River Plate during the 2011-12 season. He completed a move to Europe with French club Monaco in the following summer and helped the club secure promotion to Ligue 1 in his debut season.
The towering attacker bagged 15 goals in 96 appearances for Monaco over two-and-a-half seasons before joining Marseille on loan during the second half of the 2014-15 campaign. Ocampos completed a permanent transfer to the French south coast and went on to establish himself as a key player following loan spells at AC Milan and Genoa in 2016-17.
He registered an impressive tally of 27 goals and 15 assists in 132 appearances, featuring prominently en route to the club’s march to the final of the 2017-18 Europa League. Ocampos was snapped up by Sevilla in 2019 and bagged a 17-goal haul last term as the Spanish club won the Europa League and finished 4th in the La Liga in the previous campaign.
The 26-year-old made his international debut for Argentina in 2019 and has since scored twice in 6 appearances for La Albiceleste.
Ocampos would add more depth to the Toffees’ attack
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has contributed to more than 50% of Everton’s overall goal tally of 19 in the Premier League this season, bagging 10 goals in 10 league games so far. The young centre-forward has been well supported by Richarlison on the left and James Rodriguez on the right, with the trio being pivotal to the club’s promising start to the campaign.
Indeed, Everton haven’t really been short of goals this season, but the drop in quality in the final third has been quite evident whenever any of their regular starters have been sidelined. The departure of Theo Walcott and Moise Kean on loan has left Carlo Ancelotti with Alex Iwobi and Bernard as the only alternatives in the wide attacking department.
Considering that neither player has done an awful lot at Goodison Park over the past 12 months, Everton need to look for some quality back-ups in the winter window. And reigniting interest in Luas Ocampos would definitely go a long way towards addressing the club’s squad depth issues.
The Argentine international boasts an impressive track record of goals and assists in his professional career, having enjoyed productive spells with Marseille and Monaco in France and Sevilla in Spain.
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Verdict
It is clear from the above discussion that a potential deal for Lucas Ocampos would offer Everton some valuable depth. At 26, the Argentine international still potentially has his best years ahead of him, thus making the Sevilla star well worth a significant outlay for the Toffees in the winter market.
