Everton could make £17m January transfer move with added layer of intrigue

A report has linked Everton with a January transfer window move for Sevilla right-back Juanlu Sanchez

After missing out on Fulham’s Kenny Tete over the summer, Everton are being linked with a move for Sevilla right-back Juanlu Sanchez in the January transfer window. David Moyes tried to bring Tete in on a Bosman-style free transfer but despite holding advanced talks with the Blues, the Dutch international ended up signing an improved offer from the Cottagers to remain in west London.

Sport Witness cites a report from Spanish outlet Orgullo Biri as claiming that Everton are exploring a formal approach for Juanlu who recently extended his contract until 2029, ensuring that his Andalusian outfit will be demanding at least €20million (around £17million) if potential suitors try and test their resolve in the New Year.

Born on August 15, 2003, in Dos Hemanas, meaning ‘Two Sisters’, an autonimous community some nine miles south of Seville city centre, Juanlu has been with his current employers since the age of 12. Making his first-team debut as Sevilla edged past Majorcan part-timers Andratx on penalties after a 1-1 draw in a Copa del Rey tie on December 15, 2021, he spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Segunda Division outfit Mirandes.

READ MORE : Everton target two deals after James Tarkowski new contract as priorities clearREAD MORE : Why Everton Women are playing at Hill Dickinson Stadium after just making Goodison Park their home

Since returning to Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, Juanlu has established himself as a regular in the side and has now made 80 first-team outings, with six goals and nine assists.

The 22-year-old has been compared to Sevilla legend Jesus Navas – who had a spell in England at Manchester City – because the pair are both products of the club’s academy and versatile performers down the right-hand side of the pitch and he also inherited his number 16 jersey.

Indeed, Juanlu, who has represented Spain at Under-16, U17, U18, U19, U21 and U23 level, winning a football gold medal in last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, placing him in the esteemed company of former Everton players Richarlison of Brazil (Tokyo 2020) and Daniel Amokachi of Nigeria (Atlanta 1996), has spent most of his career on the right wing rather than the full-back position he has mostly occupied in recent months.

When assessing the position in Moyes’ team ahead of West Ham United’s visit, Everton’s most successful captain Kevin Ratcliffe told the ECHO: “I look at other teams, other full-backs and other centre-backs and I look at Jake O’Brien and he’s done exceptionally well, he’s been brilliant. But he’s not a right-back.

“I think Jake has been one of our star players this calendar year, but modern day full-backs do bomb on and they’re playing like an added winger with the wide attacking players tucking in. As well as he’s done and he’s great at getting in around the back post sometimes and he looks dangerous, I think we need someone with a right-back brain.”

So, if Ratcliffe has reservations over a centre-back turned right-back, how about a right winger turned right-back? An examination of his figures on Comparisonator shows what Juanlu could potentially offer the Blues.

In terms of their Artificial Intelligence Suitability Weight, Juanlu, with a score of 151.82 is deemed a better fit than the incumbent right-back at five Premier League clubs (but not Everton) with the players in question being Chelsea’s Malo Gusto (151.27); West Ham United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka (133.32); Bournemouth’s James Hill (132.64); Burnley’s Kyle Walker (128.73); and Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot (59.08).

We can use Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool to correlate Juanlu’s statistics in La Liga this season against those playing in his position in the Premier League. In terms physical attributes, Juanlu would rank eighth for top speed (34.47km/h) in a category led by Jackson Tchatchoua of Wolverhampton Wanderers (36.14km/h), with O’Brien reaching 33.88km/h.

However, when it comes to total distance covered, a category topped by Fulham’s Timothy Castagne, who averages 11.558km per 90 minutes played, with O’Brien placed fifth on 10.179km, Juanlu would be way down in 25th on 7.204km. The Spaniard’s previous deployment as a winger is reflected in some of his offensive figures though and he’d be ranked fourth for playing in scoring attacks, on 0.8 per 90 minutes behind a three-way tie at the top between Gusto, Matheus Nunes of Manchester City and Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur, all on 1.

Juanlu would be seventh for expected goals (xG) on 0.06, a category topped by Arsenal’s Justin Timber on 0.23, but it should be noted that O’Brien is ranked fifth on 0.1. With an average of 1 successful dribble per 90 minutes, the Sevilla man would come in eighth but Nottingham Forest’s Neco Williams leads the way in the Premier League on 3.

Another point to note is that while Juanlu’s average of 3.2 crosses per 90 minutes would put him fifth in the Premier League behind leader Williams on 5.67 and O’Brien on 2.43, despite putting in more deliveries, his successful crosses (1) place him eighth behind the Republic of Ireland international who is seventh on 1.14.

While the prospect from the region of flamenco is clearly a promising talent with some slick moves, based on these figures, it looks doubtful whether he possesses the full routine to do the job for Everton who have been searching for a long-term successor for Seamus Coleman for several years.

Ironically, one of the pretenders to the throne of the Sixty Grand bargain buy from Sligo, Nathan Patterson, was linked with a move in the opposite direction to Sevilla in the final days of the summer window, which adds another layer of intrigue.

Click here to read article