It's no secret now that Everton has been the second best team in the Premier League since their hiring of Carlo Ancelotti, but there's still some questions that linger going into the 2020-21 campaign. One of those is who should be the starting right back. Well, with this recent run and with one of their players out on loan, the player that deserves a chance to prove himself is Dijibril Sidibe.
Sidibe came over from Monaco on loan for the season, but during this recent stretch for the Blues, he has played in nine games with seven starts. This season, Sidibe has four assists and leads the club in tackles and interceptions. It seems like that it's a no brainer to have Sidibe as the starting right back come the new campaign in August. Not so fast!
There's two factors here that might determine whether Sidibe fits into Ancelotti's and the club's future plans. One is the loanee that was mentioned earlier, Jonjoe Kenny, who is playing for Schalke 04, has been impressive playing in the Bundesliga. Now, there is speculation that Schalke wants to sign Kenny to a permanent deal, but that all depends on the money and/or Sidibe's performance the rest of the way likely (money certainly). So if Kenny is playing well and the money isn't right, it makes sense to bring him back and have him and Sidibe battle out for the starting role. The other factor is the contract. While he is on loan, Everton has the option to pay Monaco £12.5 million to purchase him permanently. Sidibe is 27, which suggest he is at his peak right now and that could be beneficial to the club, but while he might be playing well and his numbers look good, does it warrant £12.5 million?
It is clear that Seamus Coleman is not the answer any more, though he could provide some depth if injuries occur no matter how ironic that is as Coleman has a history of injuries. That being said, he does provide experience and could be what Leighton Baines provides on the left side of the backs. Will that prove to be a factor as to whether Sidibe will be back?
That being said, according to an article from The Athletic, while Monaco is happy with how Sidibe has played in Merseyside, there's already a competition between two other players at the right back spot. There is also a rumor going around that while Schalke has obviously been happy with how Kenny has played for them, but the question is whether they are willing to pay the money to keep him and the speculation is that they think it's too much. It will be interesting how things play out, but the rest of the season should give a better indication of what Everton will do with Sidibe.
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