Everton have been watching Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien closely this season, according to Chronicle Live, and the Frenchman could be a major upgrade on Carlo Ancelotti’s current midfield options.
Chronicle Live also claim that Newcastle have been keen on signing Cyprien since January as Steve Bruce looks to add a burst of energy to his lethargic squad, while the Frenchman reportedly rejected Aston Villa’s advances in the winter window.
In terms of Everton’s current midfield options, wach of Fabian Delph, Morgan Schneiderlin, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Tom Davies have been on the end of Everton fan criticism at some point this season, with Ancelotti’s side having struggled for consistency throughout the campaign.
Cyprien could be the man to bring stability though, and his performances for Nice have shown as such this season.
Having scored seven times and assisted three times in 20 Ligue 1 appearances, Cyprien has more goals and assists than all four of Everton’s more regular midfielders combined, with Sigurdsson having scored one and assisted two, while Davies has also scored once.
Looking deeper into Cyprien’s statistics, the 25-year old’s 87.6% pass completion is higher than everyone in Everton’s squad except bizarrely Oumar Niasse, who somehow has 100%. Cyprien’s average of 62.6 passes per game is also higher than Everton’s entire squad, while only Lucas Digne has managed more average key passes.
Transfermarkt list Cyprien’s market value at just £16.2million, and while Chronicle Live don’t reveal a price tag, an actual price tag would likely be higher than that.
Cyprien would definitely improve the calibre of the options available to Ancelotti, and the Italian could do much worse than consider a summer move for the Frenchman.
