Everton have lined up Ghanaian right-back, Daniel Opare and are planning to secure his services in the winter transfer window. However, the Toffees face stiff competition in the race for his signature. The Sun are reporting that Bundesliga club, Augsburg are ready to cash in on their prized asset in January before they lose him on a free transfer in the summer.
The Sun claims that a whole host of clubs are lining up to sign the player for a reported £2.5m deal before his contract runs out at the end of the season. Premier League clubs Stoke City and Watford are both interested in the defender as they try to shore up their full-back options. Italian giants AC Milan, La Liga’s Sevilla and the French club Marseille have also kept a keen eye on the 27-year-old.
Augsburg has failed in their attempts to keep hold of the player after talks about a new contract broke down. The Bundesliga club was unable to reach any kind of agreement over terms with the player. This has left them with the possibilities of either losing the player for free over the summer or selling him at a cut-price deal in January.
David Unsworth has recently changed his tactics from playing a back three in a 3-5-2 formation to opting for a back four in a 4-3-3 formation. Their poor form defensively has led to the manager bringing in some players from the academy. Both Mason Holgate and Jonjoe Kenny have broken into the Everton first-team and have featured in the right-back role for the Toffees this season.
Daniel Opare can play on either flank and has already represented the likes of Real Madrid and FC Porto earlier on in his career before experiencing Bundesliga football. The defender has made 11 first team appearances for Augsburg this season and has kept four clean sheets.
He will definitely be an upgrade over Holgate and Kenny as his experience of playing football at the top level will be an asset for this Everton team.
The Toffees have been terrible defensively so far in this campaign. They have shipped in a league-high 28 goals in 13 Premier League matches which on average is more than two goals being conceded in every game. Everton fans have been crying out for reinforcements in January and Daniel Opare might be the answer to all of their prayers.
