Dream Doucoure replacement: Everton open first talks to sign £30m star
da 888casino： Everton are almost back in action.
da apostaganha： On Tuesday night, David Moyes’ team will take on Accrington Stanley in their first pre-season friendly of the summer at the Crown Ground.
After that, the Toffees will meet Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday, before heading to the United States to compete in the Premier League Summer Series, facing Bournemouth, West Ham and then Manchester United.
So far, ahead of these games, the Blues do have a new stadium, but no new signings, although is that about to change?
Everton targeting new midfielder
Ahead of their move to Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, a pair of Everton stalwarts have departed.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucouré were both released after their contracts expired, having made 273 and 166 appearances for the club respectively.
The Mali international, in particular, featured 33 times in the Premier League last season, starting 31 of those matches, so will vacate a rather large void in midfield, one that will need to be filled.
With that in mind, a report by TEAMtalk claims that Everton have made an enquiry to sign Lens midfielder Neil El Aynaoui.
They add that the 24-year-old has been most strongly linked with a move to Roma who, coincidentally, just like Everton, are also owned by the Friedkin Group, but the Toffees, as well as Crystal Palace, have now joined the race to secure his services, valued at around £30m by current club Lens.
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Their manager Pierre Sage, who started El Aynaoui in a pre-season friendly against Standard Liège on Saturday, stated afterwards “if he had been ready to leave, he wouldn’t even have played a minute”, but Lens would certainly sell at the right price.
How Neil El Aynaoui would improve Everton
El Aynaoui joined hometown club Nancy as an eight year old, making his senior debut for les Chardons in 2021, accumulating 62 appearances for the club, before moving to Lens for just €600k two summers ago.
Well, in only 56 outings for les Sang et Or, he’s become an important figure, scoring eight goals in 24 Ligue 1 appearances last season, a very impressive return for a defensive midfielder, earning rave reviews.
He has been lablled “highly talented”, while Aliou Toundé of Foot Africa outlines how he is a ‘key player’ for Lens.
But, what are his best qualities? Well, let’s assess his numbers last season in action in Ligue 1.
Neil El Aynaoui statistics 2024/25
Statistics
El Aynaoui
Lens rank
Minutes
1,708
7th
Goals
8
1st
Shots
16
11th
Goals – xG
+4
1st
Completed passes
816
7th
Progressive passes
75
7th
Passes into final third
76
5th
Tackles
39
4th
Blocks
34
2nd
Interceptions
32
1st
Touches
1,196
6th
Ball recoveries
90
4th
Statistics courtesy of FBref.com
As the table outlines, El Aynaoui is a very well-rounded player, ranking highly for every single metric included.
The most remarkable statistic is the fact he scored eight goals from just 16 shots, hence why he ranked first across all of Europe’s top five leagues for goals-per-shot.
Meantime, El Aynaoui also shone when it came to passing and all the out-of-possession statistics too, hence why he is so sought after.
The fact he is a complete all-rounder is why he would be the perfect Doucouré replacement, with the outgoing 32-year-old having scored ten times in the Premier League across the last two seasons, while offering so much more.
Doucouré – 2024/25 Premier League
Statistics
Doucouré
Everton rank
Minutes
2,564
5th
Goals
3
4th
Shots
31
4th
Expected goals
4.1
4th
Attempted passes
725
6th
Key passes
28
3rd
Progressive passes
82
4th
Shot-creating action
58
4th
Progressive carries
42
3rd
Tackles
48
6th
Blocks
31
3rd
Ball recoveries
150
3rd
Touches
1,161
7th
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com
As the table crystallises, Doucouré was at the heart of everything Everton did last season, ranking in the top five when it came to goals, shots, key passes, progressive carries, ball recoveries and so, so much more.
Thus, as already noted, El Aynaoui was doing exactly the same over at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Northern France, hence why he would be the perfect replacement.
So, at 24 years old and available for around £30m, this appears to be a no-brainer of a deal for the Toffees.
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