Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti risks repeating the mistakes of Ronald Koeman by signing Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara.
What’s the word?
According to TEAMtalk, the Goodison Park natives are one of several clubs to have recently scouted Kamara ahead of the January transfer window as sides begin stepping up their interest.
Dinamo Moscow and Dynamo Kyiv are both understood to have approached Rangers to express their interest, while Burnley, Brighton, Brentford, Newcastle and Sheffield United have also made checks.
Everton scouts have now joined the clutch of European sides to have descended on Ibrox, with Blues staff sitting alongside those from Southampton, AS Monaco, LOSC Lille and Borussia Dortmund in monitoring the Finland international’s progress.
Gers boss Steven Gerrard is loath to lose the midfielder he acquired for a nominal £50,000 from Dundee in 2019, and is pushing the Premiership giants to tie Kamara down to a long-term deal despite his current terms running until 2023.
Gerrard sees Kamara as a key chess piece to his tactics and would already have rushed through talks over a new contract if the decision was solely his.
“If it was my decision the answer would be yes,” he told reporters last week, via quotes by the Daily Mail. “I’ve made my feelings known to Ross [Wilson, the Sporting Director] and the board on that situation.
“Glen has been fantastic for me since day one. He’s grown and he’s evolved. He’s improved and he’s listened. He was superb at the weekend [against Celtic] but for me he has been really consistent for much longer than that.”
Schneiderlin 2.0?
Kamara was lauded for running the show in Rangers’ Old Firm Derby win over bitter rivals Celtic earlier this month, with Gers icon Neil Murray telling The Scottish Sun: “Kamara was excellent at the weekend and he really is an intelligent footballer. He has so much ability on the ball.”
And while Gerrard is likewise full of praise for the player Kamara has become over his 69 appearances for Rangers, the 25-year-old is not the type of player Ancelotti should be looking to lure to Goodison Park.
The 24-cap international often sees a lot of the ball at Ibrox with an average of 81 touches per Premiership appearance this season, but frequently fails to use that or his 66.7 accurate passes (92%) to good effect with just 0.9 key balls and 0.3 shots, per SofaScore.
He also does not attempt to draw the flow of play forward with just 0.7 successful dribbles (70%) a match, while offering little defensively with 0.9 interceptions, 0.7 tackles and 0.6 clearances.
Should Ancelotti strive to acquire Kamara, the Italian would seemingly just be repeating the errors of Koeman in the Dutchman’s £24million deal to sign Morgan Schneiderlin from Manchester United.
Schneiderlin was frequently questioned for his relentless sideways and backwards passing or for attempting to force balls through to players that were heavily marked, and that is something that Kamara would likely bring back to Goodison Park.
Ancelotti currently has options who rather look to bring play forward in Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Andre Gomes, with the trio playing 23, 45 and 36 accurate passes in the final third during Premier League games respectively this season and 89, 112 and 76 passes in the opponent’s half, per SofaScore.
Kamara, then, would be a step back rather than forward if he is signed, much like the play he would bring to Merseyside.
AND in other news, Everton must secure a January loan move for a talented ace in the “mould of Makelele”.