Everton Opinion: Why the Toffees should go all out for Jean-Philippe Mateta?
According to French publication L’Equipe, Everton are one of the five Premier League clubs who were rebuffed in their attempts to sign FSV Mainz forward Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The Frenchman, 21, was in the Lyon ranks for just two years having joined from Chateauroux in 2016, but moved on in 2018 after a 20-goal loan spell at Le Havre. He joined FSV Mainz in the Bundesliga last summer and finished his first season in Germany with an impressive 14 goals in 34 games, which has apparently sparked interest for his signature.
The report claims that Mainz could get as much as £35m for Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has also attracted interest from AS Monaco and Marseille.
Having seen their offer get rejected, Everton must prepare a new offer and do everything possible to beat the other clubs to Mateta’s signature.
One of the Toffees’ chief problems of last season was scoring goals consistently. Marco Silva spent a lot of money on Richarlison to bolster his attacking options and the Brazilian delivered, scoring 13 goals in 35 Premier League games.
Gylfi Sigurdsson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also contributed with 13 and 6 goals respectively, but Cenk Tosun—Everton’s premium striker—failed to deliver once again.
Tosun, signed from Besiktas in January 2018, managed just three goals in the entire 2018/19 campaign. In 43 Everton games, he has only found the net nine times.
With the Turkish international’s time in England underwhelming so far and now that he is also set to miss the start of Everton’s pre-season training due to a knee injury, Silva should prioritise signing a new centre-forward.
Thus, signing Jean-Philippe Mateta would make complete sense for the Merseyside outfit.
Standing at 6ft 4in tall, Mateta possesses exceptional strength and aerial ability which make him such a dangerous customer inside the opposition’s box.
The Frenchman can hold the ball up very well and bring his teammates into the game. Despite having such a towering frame, he has a good turn of pace and body balance that helps him keep the opposition defenders on their toes.
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The former Lyon starlet has quick feet and his burst of pace makes him a genuine threat on the counter-attack. All in all, Mateta has the required qualities to be a really good fit in Silva’s system at the Goodison Park.
Verdict
Silva must persuade the Everton hierarchy to make such an offer for Mateta that Mainz just cannot reject. At the age of 21, the Frenchman will be an ideal long-term investment for the Toffees.
