Everton were heavily linked with a big-money move for the Sunderland centre-back but would he improve Ronald Koeman’s options?
Ramiro Funes Mori is everything you would expect from an Argentine centre-back. Uncompromising, physical and full-blooded yet occasionally rash, clumsy and burdened with a tendency to over-commit.
In fact, he was fortunate that Saturday’s clash with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium ended in a predictable stalemate. If Funes Mori had come up against any other side than the league’s lowest scorers, his questionable decision making and powder-puff aerial challenges might have been punished with a goal.
If Everton are serious about bridging the small but substantial gap between seventh and sixth, a more consistent, reliable centre-back should be high on their list of priorities.
Yet, if it is week in, week out dependability that the Toffees are after, Lamine Kone’s recent performances suggest that he is not the man to improve a back line that, despite the odd hitch, has only conceded 27 league goals this season.
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According to The Sun, Ronald Koeman remains determined to land the Ivorian having spent the majority of the summer chasing the man who inspired Sunderland’s annual escape from relegation in 2015/16.
The current campaign, however, has been a different story and the preceding fortnight sums up Kone’s season quite succinctly.
Faultless in the 4-0 battering of Crystal Palace, Kone was powerful and authoritative at the back while notching at the other end. Seven days later, he was ran ragged by Southampton at the Stadium of Light, going down to an identical scoreline. It is not the first time this season that Kone has crumpled in a thumping home loss.
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Teams with genuine Champions League ambitions cannot afford such unpredictable displays.
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