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Would Doucoure really be the best replacement for PSG target Gueye at Everton?
Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain recently.
The Senegalese midfield dynamo is one of the Premier League’s top holding midfield players, having shone for the Toffees since moving to Goodison Park in 2016.
Gueye joined the club from relegated Aston Villa, and has proven to be a bargain buy at just £7.1 million after putting in many a tenacious and combative performance.
and has again showcased his impressive mean streak.
With PSG reportedly targeting Gueye, subsequent reports (France Football ) have claimed that the Toffees would want to replace him with Abdoulaye Doucoure if he left.
Doucoure not a direct replacement
Doucoure is a fantastic player and is a driving force in midfield.
For Watford he is a crucial player, but someone who is frequently mislabeled as an anchor.
The imposing Frenchman may look like a typical holding midfielder, but his underrated attacking qualities suggest him as being more of a box-to-box player. He has three goals and five assists in the Premier League so far this term, and in 2017/18 he finished with four goals and nine assists.
Arguably he doesn’t possess the same natural defensive discipline or tough tackling nature as Gueye, and that could harm Everton were they to sign him as his direct replacement.
Andre Gomes also operates from box-to-box and Gylfi Sigurdsson tends not to defend at all playing off the main striker.
Theoretically, Silva would need Doucoure to operate exclusively as a defensive shield, but he would then be missing out on that drive and support for the attack he has demonstrated so well at Vicarage Road.