The one player Everton should sign this January transfer window - 7M sport

The one player Everton should sign this January transfer window



Posted Friday, December 20, 2019 by Dailystar.co.uk

Everton are set to appoint Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager - but who should the Italian make his first signing?

Everton have pulled off a real coup getting Carlo Ancelotti – now they should bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic in to join him.

Sound crazy? No more crazy than a team which hasn’t who anything since 1995 nabbing a manager with three Champions League wins on his CV.

Everton made a real splash going after Ancelotti, who has managed at the very top of the game, proving that owner Farhad Moshiri still means business.

Moshiri has a string of expensive mistakes on his CV and is still paying for the lavish but scattergun spending of the Ronald Koeman and Steve Walsh era.

An Iranian billionaire, he has seemed more interested in building hotels in the Maldives and running his business interests in Russia at times this season.

But Moshiri is nothing if not ambitious, and while those close to him will tell you his investment in Everton is “peanuts” compared to his overall portfolio, it’s still his one big, high-profile trophy asset.

Make no mistake. Moshiri wasn’t fooling around when he made those comments about wanting to compete in the “new Hollywood of football” in the north west.

And what could be more Hollywood than signing Swedish superstar Ibrahimovic fresh from his successful spell in MLS at LA Galaxy?

Yes, Zlatan is 38. Yes, his career is coming to an end. But he has scored goals wherever he has played and there is life in the old dog yet.

The one player Everton should sign this January transfer window
Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be "tempted" to join Everton after his proposed return to AC Milan broke down (Image: GETT)

Everton have attempted more crosses this season than all but three of their Premier League rivals, something Ibrahimovic has thrived on his whole career.

And a few months of his arrogance, leadership and dressing-room presence would do everyone at Everton the world of good.

Imagine what Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Moise Kean could learn from a player with Zlatan’s experience?

Add to this the fact that he already knows and respects Ancelotti having worked under him at Paris St-Germain and you have a potentially winning combination.

Back then, Ibrahimovic said: “I’ve worked with some great coaches, but not one that has this sort of relationship with the squad. That’s the key to our success. I’ve never had a coach like Carlo.”

Ancelotti even tried to sign him for Napoli before things turned sour in Italy and he was given the boot.

Ibrahimovic would demand big wages. He would not present value for money even on a free because he might never again command a transfer fee.

The one player Everton should sign this January transfer window
Ancelotti coached Ibrahimovic at PSG (Image: GettyImages)

Signing him would completely go against club policy under Director of Football Marcel Brands, whose focus has been on trimming the squad and introducing younger players.

But on a short-term deal, if the money is there and the former Barcelona, Ajax and Juventus striker would consider it, it might be worth a shot.

Ibrahimovic has won league titles in four different countries. He has been nominated for the Balon d’Or 11 times. His charisma, confidence and personality would lift the dressing room.

And he would be a good influence on those around him. Marcus Rashford has spoken in glowing terms of how much he learned from the Swede at Manchester United.

The likes of Kean and Calvert-Lewin could too. Andy Gray was the big personality that helped spark the last great Everton team of the 1980s into life.

This is no Class of 85. But Ibrahimovic is the sort of signing who might just help unlock the full potential of a talented bunch of players who lack confidence, leadership, and at times, hunger.

Most clubs would bite your hand off to have Ancelotti in the dug-out. They’d bite your hand off to have Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the dressing room too.



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