Everton director of Football Marcel Brands could be given his chance to sign long-term target Mohamed Ihattaren, with the player out of favour at PSV Eindhoven.
The Everton chief is a well-established admirer of the PSV youngster, having spoken publicly about him back in 2019.
Back then Ihattaren was earning rave reviews as a 17-year-old and being linked to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.
That saw Voetbal International profile the player and speak to Brands about him, with the director of football revealing “I’d like to have him at Everton tomorrow” but insisting that it wasn’t “the path he should take”.
They report that the Ihattaren has not been able to win the ‘confidence’ of coach Roger Schmidt and that may have left the transfer door ‘ajar’ during the winter window.
It’s explained that after returning from the summer break overweight, Ihattaren has been unable to break into the team.
Similarly, Schmidt’s preferred way of playing and tactics mean there is no place for the midfielder at this moment in time, with the PSV coach insisting he has to learn what to do without the ball.
There’s also competition in the squad, with Mario Götze first choice and fellow youngsters Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke fitting better into Schmidt’s philosophy.
Thus Ihattaren is on the outside looking in, and Soccer News posit that, if you add all these things together, the situation is ‘pretty hopeless’ for him.
They say the fact he flirted with Ajax in the summer shows he is already looking beyond Eindhoven and he now has to ask himself if PSV is the best place for him currently.
At the minute the answer is no, and there are currently other clubs that would suit him better, so if things don’t pick up in the next month, it could be that he pushes for a move, perhaps even just a loan so he can regain confidence.
Now Everton aren’t named, but given Brands’ previous comments, there would surely be ears pricking at such an opportunity.
The Blues midfield still needs work and the chance to sign a highly-rated youngster like Ihattaren, even if it was just on loan, is something Brands would surely be rubbing his hands at.
