Everton have picked up enough points this season under Sean Dyche to have placed themselves firmly in the top ten, having won the same number of Premier League matches as both Brighton and Hove Albion and West Ham United, who are competing for the European places.
The ten-point deduction that the Toffees received hasn’t done justice to the fact that had Everton not been punished, the club would be in contention for one of the league’s seven available European places.
Nevertheless, with success comes more suitors for your players and Dyche's side are now facing a battle to keep hold of star defender Jarrad Branthwaite, although the Merseyside club do have one name lined up as his replacement.
Everton transfer news – Federico Gatti
According to a report from Calciomercato earlier this week, Everton are keeping tabs on Juventus defender Federico Gatti’s progress with the Italian giants and haven’t given up hope of signing him in January, despite Gatti signing a new five-year contract extension at the end of October.
Everton were one of several Premier League clubs that approached Juventus in the build-up to the summer deadline in the hopes of signing the centre-half, but Juve have now tied the Italy international down to a new long-term contract.
Nevertheless, Dyche is clearly in the market for another centre-back, particularly since it has been reported that star defender Jarrad Branthwaite is a top target for Manchester United this winter as Erik ten Hag looks for options to shore up his leaky defence.
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Losing Branthwaite would be a colossal blow for Everton as the ex-Carlisle United central defender has contributed massively to a defence that boasts the joint-fourth-fewest number of goals conceded this season.
Federico Gatti’s stats this season
Juventus have kept nine clean sheets in 15 matches this season in Serie A which is the second-most behind Inter Milan. Gatti has played in 13 of these matches, starting 12 alongside star defender Gleison Bremer.
Club captain Danilo has been left impressed with Gatti’s contribution to the team this season and even labelled the 25-year-old as a “humble boy” who has been “an example” to the rest of the squad in the current campaign. The reason for these comments is that Gatti was playing in the fourth tier of Italian football in 2020 and is now fighting for a league title with one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
One area that sets Gatti apart from the rest of the defenders in Italian football is his threatening nature inside the penalty area. In 13 league appearances, the ex-Frosinone man has scored three goals. Only Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa have managed more this term for the Bianconeri.
As a result of his impressive form with the Old Lady, the CIES Football Observatory have placed Gatti’s market value currently at £43m, having been worth merely £4m twelve months ago.
Furthermore, Gatti has actually been outperforming Branthwaite in a number of key metrics for a centre-back.
Goals
0.25
0
Expected Goals
0.19
0.03
Progressive Passes
2.81
2.07
Progressive Carries
1.49
0
Passes To Final 1/3
2.73
1.36
Errors
0
0.07
Pass Completion %
84.6
77.7
Tackles
1.16
2.14
Tackles Won
0.83
1.21
Interceptions
0.83
1.79
Aerial Duels Won %
69.7
67.2
Stats via FBref
As shown in the table above, Gatti is far more adept at playing out from the back – shown by his superior record with relation to progressive passes and progressive carries – although that's not to suggest that he can't also offer a brick wall defensively, as shown by his 69.7% aerials duels won per 90.
With that being said, Everton should definitely still look to keep Branthwaite, but if the club are forced to accept an offer for him this January, the Toffees may look no further than Gatti.