Why Thomas Meunier would be a good replacement for Seamus Coleman
According to the Sun, Everton have made an approach to sign Thomas Meunier from PSG next summer, with the Toffees in the hunt for an alternative to veteran Seamus Coleman, who has struggled since his leg injury last season.
The same report claims that Thomas Meunier would have only a year left on his contract at PSG at the end of the season and the Belgian is open to a move away from the French capital in search for more first-team action.
The 27-year-old has struggled for regular minutes at PSG this term and has started only 13 games in Ligue 1, with manager Thomas Tuchel rotating between the likes of Brazilian veteran Dani Alves and German Thilo Kehrer on the right-hand side.
Meunier, who was instrumental in Belgium’s march to the semi-finals in the 2018 World Cup, is widely regarded as one of the best right-backs in Europe. The 27-year-old made his move to the French capital in 2016 following a hugely successful spell with Club Brugge and has racked up 93 appearances for PSG across all competitions, registering 11 goals and 19 assists.
Meanwhile, Everton have struggled to hit the ground running in their first season under Marco Silva. The expectations were high when the Portuguese took charge at the start of the season but the Toffees haven’t been able to close the gap on the top six despite making the headlines with the big-money signings of Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Andre Gomes and Bernard last summer.
Besides the lack of creativity in the final third, susceptibility at the back has been one of the major reasons behind Everton’s undoing this term. They brought in the likes of Digne and Mina from Barcelona and Kurt Zouma on loan from Chelsea but Everton haven’t looked solid as a defensive unit. As a matter of fact, they have already shipped 39 goals so far, which isn’t good enough as compared to the teams in the top half.
Most of the goals conceded by Everton have come from set-pieces and crosses played into the box from the wide areas. While the centre-backs, apart from Michael Keane, haven’t been consistent enough, the full-backs have also been caught out of position far too often, allowing the opposition to exploit vast acres of space down the flanks. To sum it up, lack of communication between the centre-backs and the full-backs have resulted in Everton looking shambolic at the back more often than not.
While Lucas Digne has adapted brilliantly to the Premier League, veteran Seamus Coleman has been too wayward and inconsistent down the right, which is quite uncharacteristic of him given that the Irishman has been one of the mainstays of Everton’s defence for the past decade. However, he has looked way too rusty and has lacked his old sharpness since returning from a leg injury that had forced him out of action for large quarters of the previous campaign.
Hence, it is high time for Everton to think about investing in a new right-back to replace the ageing veteran. Jonjoe Kenny is a promising understudy but he is nowhere near as good as someone like Thomas Meunier. The Belgian has shown high levels of concentration and composure in recent years and has also impressed with his passing and crossing ability from the flanks.
Read More:- Here are 3 quality strikers Everton should look to sign this summer including Chelsea outcast
A modern offensive-minded full-back, Meunier has all the attributes to flourish under Marco Silva’s philosophy and Everton should go all out to land him next summer.
