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‘Charasmatic’: Andre Villas-Boas calls reported Everton target a born leader

Andre Villas-Boas, the newly announced football coach for Shanghai SIPG, speaks during a press conference in Shanghai on November 4, 2016. (JOHANNE...
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Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton reporteldy think they can bring Marseille’s Ligue 1 veteran Bouna Sarr to the Premier League for a bargain fee.

NIMES, FRANCE - February 28:  Bouna Sarr #17 of Marseille in action during the Nimes V Marseille, French Ligue 1, regular season match at Stade des Costieres on February 28th 2020, Nimes,...

Bouna Sarr might not be the most gifted footballer in Marseille’s squad but he is one of the most important.

Just ask Andre Villas-Boas, the former Tottenham and Chelsea boss who will be desperate to keep his go-to man out of Everton’s clutches this summer.

Speaking earlier in 2020 about a player who has made more Ligue 1 appearances than anyone else in Marseille’s squad this season (27), Villas-Boas left no one in any doubt about how highly Sarr is regarded within the walls of the Stade Velodrome.

“I was very happy to give him the captain’s armband, the other day, because I view him as a leader, with the efforts that he makes and his attitude in the squad.” a man who famously won the treble with Porto in his first season as a coach told GFFN.

“He remains the most used player this season, as either a winger of full-back. We have a really frank relationship. His work is irreproachable, he is training well.

“He is a charismatic guy and he is well-liked in the dressing room. I think that he could have more importance in the dressing room, maybe next season as captain.”

Andre Villas Boas during the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Marseille and Girondins Bordeaux at Stade Velodrome on December 8, 2019 in Marseille, France.

Whether Sarr sticks around long enough to inherit the armband remains to be seen. It is well documented that Marseille needed to cash in one some of their key players this summer to avoid potential Financial Fair Play problems – even before the global health crisis threatened to make matters even worse.

The Mirror (29 March, page 77) reports that Everton are confident of getting a deal done for Sarr for a fee of around £8 million. Considering what the 28-year-old Frenchman offers both on and off the pitch, that would be money well spent.

Marseille's Bouna Sarr during the Ligue 1 match between Lille OSC and Olympique Marseille at Stade Pierre Mauroy on February 16, 2020 in Lille, France.