Everton have been assured that Amadou Onana ‘has everything’ in his locker to be a success in England.
The Lille midfielder is on the verge of completing a big-money move to Goodison Park, with him set to fly to Manchester tonight before undergoing a medical tomorrow and finalising the deal.
His arrival has been warmly welcomed by Everton fans, who are excited at the prospect of a young, talented player arriving to reinforce a problem position.
There are some concerns about the deal, though, particularly as Onana only managed 11 Ligue 1 starts for Lille last season.
That’s led some to question the transfer but Sport Magazine journalist Guillaume Gautier has moved to assure those fears today.
He states that Onana ‘has everything’ to succeed in England with his ‘power and ability’ both unquestioned.
However, Everton have now made their move with a ‘staggering’ offer that the French side simply couldn’t turn down.
The transfer has been warmly welcomed by the Belgian national team, who are ‘rubbing their hands together’ at the player moving to the Premier League.
They see Onana as Axel Witsel’s successor because he is ‘capable of doing the dirty work’ in a two-man midfield thanks to his ‘physical strength’ and ‘good speed’ considering his size.
He also stands out when in possession of the ball, although that is more evident when he plays as a number eight as opposed to a six.
Either way, with the ball at his feet he ‘caused havoc’ because his ‘powerful and agile’ with a constant desire to move the game forward.
Gautier explains he is capable of breaking down lines with the ball at his feet thanks to a ‘body orientation’ that makes a difference because he has a ‘quick and controlled stride’.
One thing he is lacking is the consistency of a leader but that is something he can develop in the Premier League, which ‘loves similar profiles’ to him.
The belief is that Onana has enough ‘interesting raw material’ to transform into a ‘reference box-to-box’ midfielder. The ‘margin for improvement’ is ‘considered significant’ by those who follow him closely.
The main question for him is whether he can do it over the full 90 minutes as he’s only currently able to do it in spells.
There is confidence he can do it, though, and prove to be a very good signing for Everton this summer to boot.
