Forced to play three at the back at the beginning of the season in both Leighton Baines’ and Bryan Oviedo’s absences, Ronald Koeman could do with some reinforcement at left-back for Everton.
The same could apply to Liverpool, who were looking for someone in that position with links to then Lorient defender Raphaël Guerreiro prior to his move to Dortmund, with Jürgen Klopp playing James Milner there since the start of the season.
While the moves by both managers appeared to have been successful to a certain extent, a natural in that position could do each team the world of good, and an Italian journalist has the solution for one of the teams: buy Faouzi Ghoulam.
Interviewed about the player by La Gazette du Fennec in Algeria, Italian journalist Leonardo Vivard, who writes for CalcioNapoli24 and follows Ghoulam’s Napoli very closely, said the player should be a target for both clubs.
He said: “For me, he’d be perfect for the Premier League. He’s very good physically. He’s the classic offensive left-back who would be ideal for clubs like Liverpool or Everton, but we’d rather he stayed in Naples.”
The player has been linked a few times with a move to England, with both Manchester City and Chelsea reported to have held an interest in the Algeria international at one point over the summer.
We’ll see if Liverpool and Everton join the hunt in the winter, but he’s certainly someone both manager could have in mind next summer, as Napoli are very unlikely to let one of their star players leave in January.