Everton boss Ronald Koeman has reportedly joined the race to sign highly rated Burnley defender Michael Keane as shoring up the defence is high on his agenda for January. The 23-year old has been arguably the best player for the Clarets so far as he seemed to wage a lone battle in most of the games as Sean Dyche’s men ended several games in a limp away defeat despite having made a positive start.
Burnley’s away form has been worrying, to say the least. The club has lost 5 of its 6 away games with the other ending in a stalemate. It says a lot about Keane, the defender to have topped the performance rating charts for a team which has already conceded 23 goals from their 14 games.
A product of the Manchester United academy, Keane spent four years with the United first team before finally joining Burnley in 2014/15. During his time at Manchester, the defender spent most of the time on loan at other clubs like Leicester City, Derby County and Blackburn Rovers, with all the three being in the Championship when he donned their jerseys.
His time in the 2nd division, allowed him to develop his game being subjected to the challenges of the English game more frequently. Before his move to Turf Moore, Keane made only a single appearance in the Premier League. Since then, however, he has experienced relegation from the Premier division as well as promotion from the Championship.
His matured performances reflect the lessons he has accumulated from the vast range of experience he gathered owing to the situations which are not faced by the young players often. This is why teams like Chelsea and Premier League champions Leicester are hot on his trail.
For Everton, Keane looks more like a necessity, though. Koeman has an ageing defence, with first-choice central defenders Phil Jagielka aged 34 and Ashley Williams aged 32. Ramiro Funes Mori, who is 25, provides the back-up but he has failed to get past Jagielka and Williams and hasn’t impressed in the few chances he has got.
Mason Holgate is highly thought of but, at 20, is still seen as one for the future. Keane has proved he can handle the top flight since helping Burnley to promotion in the summer and his form this season has earned him England call-ups under Gareth Southgate. The Englishman is thus an option who can contribute to the cause right from the off.
Keane is likely to draw a fee of at least £15m for the clubs interested in him. It would be difficult for the Turf Moore club to keep hold of him with a bid equal or in excess of that amount submitted in January and even if they manage to hold the suitors off in winter Everton are likely to return in the summer and get the job done.
