VILLAR PEROSA, ITALY - AUGUST 12: Sami Khedira of Juventus in action during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Juventus and Juventus U19 on August 12, 2018 in Villar Perosa, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
According to Football.london, Everton are one of the clubs linked with Sami Khedira. The Juventus man is out of contract next summer. He has not featured for them this season. While Brazilian club Vasco da Gama have tried to lure him, he remains keen to stay in Europe. Tottenham have also been credited with an interest in the player.
Sami Khedira started his youth career in TV Oeffingen in 1992 and then moved to VfB Stuttgart’s youth side after 3 years. In 2006, the 33-year-old German broke into the first-team. He stayed at the club for four seasons and made 132 appearances, scoring 16 and providing 19 assists.
Real Madrid came calling in 2010 and Khedira made the move to Spain. For 5 seasons, he was a vital part of the Blancos’ midfield and was used extensively by Mourinho and then Ancelotti. He played 161 games in Madrid and scored 9 goals for them (source – Transfermarkt).
Khedira joined Juventus on a free transfer in 2015. He has been a valuable signing for the Italian champions, with 145 games to his name. He is a veteran of the German national team as well, with 77 caps. The midfielder has won a bunch of trophies in his career, with the highlights being the World Cup and Champions League in 2014.
While Khedira may be a decorated player, his best days are past him. He can no longer provide the steel and control in midfield that he once used to provide. Yes, it could be a free transfer and Everton would just have to bear his wages but it makes little sense to go for him.
Everton already recruited two central midfielders this season in the form of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure. Both have settled in well at the club and are likely to continue as starters. Let’s not forget that they also have the likes of Andre Gomes, Tom Davies and Fabian Delph to cover for them.
What Everton need at this moment is a defender and a backup striker. They would benefit from focusing their efforts to sign players they actually need and can improve the side. There is a very good chance that Khedira will be no more than a squad player at the club and Everton would be better off not going down that road to pursue him.