Everton have been linked with a potential transfer move for Anthony Caci of Mainz
Everton have been linked with a potential transfer move for Anthony Caci of Mainz
Everton have been linked with a potential transfer move for Anthony Caci of Mainz
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Everton have been left hugely frustrated by a hamstring injury this week as Jarrad Branthwaite underwent a surgical procedure after suffering a major fitness setback. But one elsewhere might impact on the chances of bringing in a potential bargain buy.
Branthwaite hasn’t kicked a ball in a competitive match so far this season after penning a new five-year deal with the Blues on July 2. After undergoing his operation on Tuesday, the England international will commence a structured rehabilitation programme under the supervision of the club’s medical team.
Sport Witness cite SportBild as reporting that Mainz wanted to extend Anthony Caci’s contract over the summer around the time of interest from Everton and Fulham but the player refused all approaches from his current club and made it clear he didn’t want to pen fresh terms with the opportunity to take advantage of free agent status appealing for him.
However, with the 28-year-old having picked up a hamstring injury and expected to be out of action until the end of the calendar year, the piece claims Mainz could take advantage of the player’s difficult situation and try again for a renewal.
The article adds that it would be a gamble on behalf of both parties as Caci was clearly tempted by the prospect of the Premier League, although fitness issues could reduce his chances of Everton or another interested party trying to obtain him on a Bosman-style free transfer next summer.
The Blues remain in the hunt for right-back options having ironically tried to sign Fulham’s Kenny Tete in the same transfer window when he was poised to become available on a free, only for the Dutch international to perform a U-turn when he was offered improved terms and stay at Craven Cottage.
Although Nathan Patterson was signed by Rafael Benitez – 12 days before he was sacked – for £11million in January 2022, with the intention of him becoming Seamus Coleman’s long-term successor at right-back, a combination of injuries and team-mates being picked out of position ahead of him has blighted the Scotland international’s time on Merseyside.
Ben Godfrey was often deployed there by Sean Dyche in the second half of the 2023/24 season but following the former Norwich City player’s sale in 2024, veteran Ashley Young was first choice for most of the first half of 2024/25.
Following Dyche’s sacking, David Moyes thought outside of the box to incorporate a way of getting Jake O’Brien – Everton’s biggest buy of 2024 at £16.43million – into the side after the Republic of Ireland international failed to start at Premier League game under the former long-serving Burnley boss.
O’Brien subsequently took up the right-back mantle for 14 consecutive matches and he’s been ever-present there for the Blues in their eight Premier League games so far this term.
However, as Everton’s most successful captain Kevin Ratcliffe, who played at full-back himself in his early days before establishing himself at centre-back, told the ECHO last month: “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.”
There is also a question as to whether Caci is a right-back, though. The versatile star is able to operate in no fewer than six separate positions.
Although, Caci is described as a right-back on Transfermarkt, incredibly the statistical breakdown of his career on their website states that he has only actually played there seven times in his career. The position they calculate him as occupying most is left-back (65 times), where he has scored twice and provided nine assists.
After that it’s right midfield (51 times, including all his outings this term before picking up his injury), which has brought one goal and 10 assists; followed by centre-back (44 times), one assist; left midfield (37 times), bringing three goals and three assists; and finally a solitary outing as a defensive-minded central midfielder.
Apart from when he operated on the right-hand side of a back three in the 2-0 home defeat to Heidenheim on September 28 though – an afternoon in which he was withdrawn in a tactical substitution just after the hour mark – Caci was deployed exclusively as a right wing-back in the 3-4-2-1 formation deployed by Mainz’s Danish coach Bo Henrikson.
Having made his senior debut for Strasbourg as a late substitute in their 2-1 Ligue 2 win over Auxerre on October 21, 2016, Caci didn’t feature again for them until a couple of seasons later, but would total 118 appearances for the Alsatian outfit, scoring twice, before joining Mainz on a free transfer in 2022. Since moving to Germany, he has played 101 times, netting on five occasions.
When it comes to players currently operating in the Premier League, one who has already scored at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Crystal Palace’s Colombian international Daniel Munoz is deemed to be the closest match to Caci in Comparisonator’s Similarity calculator with a score of 94%. He is followed by Aston Villa’s Andres Garcia (77%) and Sunderland’s Trai Hume (69%) although curiously, former Everton home-grown hero Jonjoe Kenny, now of PAOK in Greece, scores a 92% match.
Comparisonator’s Artificial Intelligence Team Finder reckons that Caci would actually be a better fit at right-back than the incumbent options at 11 teams in the Premier League, and with an A.I. Suitability Weight of 196.46, he scores higher than Everton’s O’Brien (194.71) plus the likes of Conor Bradley of Liverpool (159); Malo Gusto of Chelsea (151.27) and Diogo Dolot of Manchester United (104.75).
In terms of Caci’s player profile, he scores 7.8 out of 10 as a ‘playmaker back’ as opposed to 6.8 for wing-back; 6.2 for two-ways full-back and 5.5 for defensive full-back. A playmaker back is described as being a gifted full-back who builds play from deep and wide positions, acting as a distributor rather than a runner.
Anthony Caci's statistics for successful passes in the final third this season compared to Premier League players in his position
Anthony Caci's statistics for successful passes in the final third this season compared to Premier League players in his position
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He excels in accurate forward passes, ball circulation and creative distribution, contributing more like a wide regista than an overlapping full-back with examples being Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo and Alejandro Grimaldo. Comparsionator’s Virtual Transfer tool also enables us to correlate Caci’s statistics this season against his Premier League peers.
When it comes to expected goals (xG), only Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber (0.2) can top his 0.16 figure while Neco Williams of Nottingham Forest (2.75) is the sole player to average more dribbles in the final third of the pitch to his figure of 2. Caci also averages more successful passes in the final third (6.5), ahead of Premier League leader Matheus Nunes of Manchester City (6.17) and puts in more successful crosses (2.25) than Williams (2) who tops the charts over here.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.