In a recent print edition, Corriere dello Sport has claimed that Everton are in pole position to recruit Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira. It is believed that the Toffees are leading the race to secure the signature of the German midfield ace, who seems destined to move to the Premier League (transcripted and translated by Sport Witness).
Khedira’s Juventus Career Has Come To A Standstill
Khedira has been a forgotten member at the Allianz Stadium as he is yet to feature for Juve this season. He has not been a part of Andrea Pirlo’s plans for this Serie A campaign and is surplus to requirements at Turin heading into the January transfer window.
The 33-year-old has been a sporadic feature for the Italian outfit in the previous campaign when he made 18 appearances for them, securing one assist in the process on all fronts. Khedira struggled to give a good account of himself after he averaged 1.2 tackles, 0.3 interceptions, 0.9 clearances, 1.0 shots and 0.7 key passes per 90 minutes in the Serie A last season. However, he was tidy with his ball-distribution based on his pass completion rate of 88.2% in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
Khedira needs to earn regular first-team starts if he intends to taste success in the remainder of his playing career. Hence, a move to Merseyside might be too tempting for the player to turn down during the winter transfer period as he might have a better shot of becoming a regular starter under Carlo Ancelotti’s tutelage this season.
What Will The German Midfield Ace Add To Carlo Ancelotti’s Team?
Khedira is a tough-tackling and dominant presence in midfield who can win a lot of headers in the air by using his strong 1.89m frame to get the better of the opposition. The 77-time German international is often quite creative with his passes and can serve as a good squad player for most clubs in the Premier League.
The Stuttgart-born talent is an experienced campaigner, but there are some concerns over his lack of productivity in the final third. He has struggled to score or set-up goals for Juve over the past 18 months, which makes him a gamble for any of his potential suitors including the Toffees.
Currently, Carlo Ancelotti needs to add more depth to his squad if he wants his side to sustain their push for a European place in the second half of this campaign. Therefore, it seems logical for him to engineer a move to sign Khedira in January as he will undeniably provide more competition for Allan, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph and Tom Davies at Goodison Park.
Another option for the Toffees would be to sign Khedira on a short-term deal when he becomes a free agent at the end of this campaign. At 33, the German veteran has still got a few good years left in his locker to perform at top gear which makes him a decent option for the Merseyside outfit next summer.
