An update has emerged regarding Everton’s interest in Brazilian left-back Guilherme Arana.
What’s the talk?
According to Brazilian outlet Torcedores (via TEAMtalk), Everton are interested in signing Atletico Mineiro full-back Guilherme Arana.
The report claims that the Toffees have been sending scouts to watch him play for Brazil at the Olympics, where he is playing alongside Richarlison. They are in the quarter-finals of the competition, with the Blues continuing to track his progress.
Should Everton sign Arana?
Yes
No
Fans would love him
Marcel Brands must sanction a swoop for the left-back this summer as he could be a quality addition to the squad heading into next season, while the fans would likely love him.
Everton are short on cover in the full-back areas and Arana could be a much-needed signing to bolster the depth of Rafa Benitez’s squad. Lucas Digne is the first-choice on the left-hand side of the defence and there is no need for him to be immediately replaced, but behind him there is little in the way of competition.
Niels Nkounkou is still very raw, while Ben Godfrey was forced to play at left-back at times last season as a right-footed centre-back naturally, and bringing Arana in could alleviate any need to do that again. Not only would Digne have a serious challenger for his place in the team, it would also allow the former Norwich man to focus solely on playing at centre-back instead of filling in at full-back.
André Jardine, Brazil’s coach at the Olympics, heaped praise on the 1.76m (5 foot 9) beast as he said of the 24-year-old: “He is going through a spectacular phase, he was the best full-back at the last Brazilian Championship, with a great resourcefulness, defensively and offensively.
“His big message at the last Championship was that he scored goals, gave assists, he even scored a goal on our last call. I talk to Franco a lot. With his approval on the left-back, he really meets the Brazilian National Team. Arana fills our eyes with us at the club and here.”
This illustrates that Arana bombs up and down the left flank as he is able to make an impact at both ends of the pitch. Everton fans would likely appreciate him working hard to get up the pitch, as Digne does, whilst potentially offering some assists and goals from the back.
He has one assist in three games at the Olympics and has averaged a superb SofaScore rating of 7.10 in Tokyo. Therefore, he could be a quality signing for the Blues in an ideal position, and one who Everton supporters would surely love to see competing with Digne for the left-back spot next season.
AND in other news, Brands must “raise the bar” by landing “phenomenal” £195k-p/w colossus for Everton…