Everton have been linked with a move for Matheus Cunha and now a new update has emerged on the club’s chances of the signing the player in January.
What’s the latest?
According to journalist Simon Phillips, Everton have a better chance to sign the Atletico Madrid striker over Premier League competitors Wolverhampton Wanderers.
When asked by GIVEMESPORT if a move to the Merseyside club would be more appealing than a move to Wolves, Phillips responded:
“Oh, for sure. Everton have got a good history as a club anyway, and I think what’s more important is Frank Lampard’s pulling power.
“If a player is picking between Everton and Wolves, I think Lampard is going to be the standout decision-maker for any player really. We saw it at Chelsea, he single-handedly got players to sign for the club like Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz just with his influence.
“So, I think he can use that again at Everton, especially for a player like Cunha. I think they’ve got a better chance of signing him than Wolves.”
Lampard must avoid Cunha
There is no doubt that Everton are in desperate need of improvements in their attacking threat and Frank Lampard will be given the golden opportunity to turn the Toffees’ season around with the acquirement of players who can make a genuine positive impact on the team over the second half of the campaign.
However, due to Everton’s current league position in 17th – just one point shy of the relegation zone – the manager is afforded no room for error in terms of making sure he brings in the right profile of forward to help the team secure safety in the top flight for another season.
As a result, the signing of Cunha may not be the best approach for Everton if their intention is to increase and improve their goal-scoring opportunities over the remainder of their fixtures this season.
The £49k-per-week forward has only managed to score seven goals and register eight assists over 54 appearances for Atletico Madrid and has averaged just 33 minutes per game, proving that he is not a trusted or consistent goal-scorer for the La Liga giants.
Over 11 league appearances this season, Cunha has scored no goals, registered two assists and missed four big chances, as well as averaging 13.3 touches, 5.6 accurate passes and 0.7 shots on target per game, further confirming that the player does not command a big presence on the pitch and isn’t the natural finisher Everton are crying out for.
In fact, the 23-year-old was once dubbed “out of order” by his former coach at Hertha BSC, Pal Dardai, for a poor performance when the player was caught strolling in a defeat to Koln last year.
“In Germany, you can’t just stop working when you’re not in possession. Then everything falls apart,” he fumed.
“There were scenes that were absolutely out of order. As a striker, just staying up front, walking back. I don’t understand the world anymore. How does a footballer get into walk mode in 90 minutes? I don’t know.”
With that being said, Lampard must focus on his other potential targets to fill the striker role needed at Goodison Park as Cunha is clearly neither in form nor clinical enough in front of goal to provide Everton with the goal contributions needed to save their season.