Maitland-Niles back on Everton radar for January
Rafa Benitez will renew his interest in signing Arsenal’s want-away defender Ainsley Maitlan-Niles for Everton when the January transfer window opens according to new reports.
As we all know Everton failed in their attempts to prise Maitland-Niles away from the Emirates Stadium on deadline day.
This left the Blues without another right-back to cover for Seamus Coleman apart from the relatively unproven Jonjo Kenny.
The problem was then thrown into further focus by the injury Coleman suffered on international duty last week although it seems he might not be as badly hurt as first thought and will be fit to play tomorrow.
However, despite this good news the lack of getting in additional cover for this position was the most crucial oversight in the club’s summer transfer window business.
It represented yet another missed chance to sign a potential long-term replacement at right-back and made the Toffees transfer window ultimately a very frustrating one.
The other decision made on deadline day that I don’t understand is the willingness of the club to allow young left-back Niels Nkounkou to leave on loan for the remainder of the season.
I recognise that he might want regular football, but it leaves Benitez without any specialist cover behind Lucas Digne. So, we have to keep our fingers crossed Digne doesn’t get hurt again like he did last season.
Anyway, would a move for Maitland-Niles make sense in January?
The young England player has been largely frozen out at Arsenal and on deadline day there were all sorts of conflicting reports about whether he wanted to move or was prepared to stay and fight for his place at the Gunners.
In the end Arsenal didn’t appear ready to let him leave, at least not for the sort of fee Everton were apparently prepared to offer.
It depends then on what will have changed in the next four months and whether he or his club will still be willing to listen to offers and consider a change of club.
Maitland-Niles is certainly a versatile player who has filled in at full-back and in midfield but while it appears the Toffees want him to help sort out that right-back issue, according to these reports he prefers a midfield role. Presumably he would offer that additional flexibility Benitez needs.
Well, we will see if Benitez does indeed make a move for him or another player to plug this gap in his squad come January.