Everton had a big hole at the defensive midfielder position when Idrissa Gueye headed out to PSG, but with the official announcement today, Toffee Nation is happy to know that void has now been filled as the Blues have signed Jean-Philippe Gbamin to a five year, £25 million contract as he is transferring from Mainz of the Bundesliga.
Hailing from the Ivory Coast, Gbamin played 86 matches overall for Mainz scoring three goals (31 matches played with two goals in 2018-19). He has also made 11 appearances for the Ivory Coast. He seems to be a good fit for Silva's offense as he is very similar to Gueye's style of play as he is an excellent passer and is very aggressive in the midfield. Gbamin also helped Mainz escape the depths of possible relegation in 2018-19.
Lots of people have already compared Gbamin's statistics to the outgoing Gueye's with one of the biggest differences being Gbamin scoring more goals. While Gueye's pass accuracy is better (84% to Gbamin's 80%) and has a more successful tackles percentage (79%-65%), the numbers look very similar. That being said though, Gbamin is much younger as he is 23 and Gueye is 29. Gueye might be in the prime of his career, but Gbamin might be about to come into his own meaning he can possibly develop into a better player. So getting younger might have been beneficial to Everton as Gbamin could develop into a young star.
With the addition of Gbamin and the expected announcement of Moise Kean, Everton has now added two young potential stars to what could make Everton into a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League and potentially in a major European tournament. They have loads of talented and experienced players and it will be fun to see how Gbamin gels with them on offense as it has to the potential to be potent. However, exciting things are on the horizon for Toffee Nation.
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