Manchester City’s versatile defender could finally replace Seamus Coleman, but his hefty price tag and tactical flaws raise questions about his suitability for a high-pressure Goodison Park.
Ah yes, we are back with the age-old question: which right back do Everton buy this summer?
It has been the same old summer, watching Everton buy players and neglect the most glaring position that needs to be filled: a long-term replacement for Seamus Coleman.
Seamus Coleman has himself said he told Everton to replace him nearly 5/6 years ago, but we haven’t. We have ‘half tried’ with certain players, but it just has not worked. The current starting right back is that of natural centre half Jake O’Brien. As much as I like O’Brien, he cannot start the first game against Palace.
This brings me to the latest rumour of a person to fill this void, Manchester City’s Rico Lewis. On paper, Rico Lewis completely fits the bill of what we need. He's young at 21 at the time of writing, has Premier League experience and has five caps for England. Seems like a no-brainer? Well, not really…
The price that has been bandied around is that of £30m. Now, in this day and age, £30m is not a lot for a player with the above recommendations, not at all. My reservations with someone like Rico Lewis is that of he plays for Manchester City who have much better players than Everton (sad but true) who can mask players' shortcomings quite well when push comes to shove.
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In this Everton team, he will play every week and be at the forefront of our attack down that right-hand side. Is a young lad of 21 ready for such a tall order? I have my doubts.
No doubt there is some talent in Lewis’ game. When I have watched City in the past and he has started I have seen a player who looks like he thinks he is better than he actually is.
That is not to say he can’t be that good. He lacks positional play and seems to go drifting central, very much like our left back at the moment, and can be caught out by the long ball over the top.
He has a tackle in his locker and is quicker than most of our team. One of the pluses that many (David Moyes) will see is that he can play at central midfield. David Moyes loves a player who can play multiple positions.
In conclusion, I think this current rumour is either lazy journalism, lazy recruitment, or both. I am not writing this off at all, but I do have my reservations for the above reasons and feel he could get swallowed up by our club and, mostly, our fans. We shall see how this one pans out!