Everton have been linked with a host of big names, but Mesa could be the understated signing the club really need.
Thanks to the perpetual possession-stealing exploits of N’Golo Kante, every club in the land wants a tenacious, V8 equipped enforcer in the centre of their midfield. They want the same deal that carried Leicester City to the Premier League title and underpinned Chelsea’s rejuvenation, all the while putting a modern spin on the ‘Makelele role’.
A player almost entirely unknown outside of the statisticians’ circle, Kante’s ball recoveries and tackle success rate ranked right at the top of France’s Ligue 1 while he was plying his trade for lowly Caen. And, unsurprisingly, more and more clubs are using stats as a key scouting method these days, studying rankings rather than reputations.
And Roque Mesa is fairly high in both regards. A talented distributor, the 27-year-old is an ideal fit for the defensive midfield position in Las Palmas’ free-flowing, pass-and-move system. Yet, it’s his destructive rather than creative capabilities that are likely to have enticed interest from Premier League clubs gagging for a player fit to lace Kante’s boots.
And, according to Opta, no player has made more ball recoveries in La Liga throughout the calendar year than the diminutive Roque Mesa. 302 times he has ripped possession away from an opponent with his tenacious harrying and intelligent positioning. All for a player just six centre-metres taller than Aaron Lennon.
Therefore, it’s no surprise Everton were so heavily tipped to make a move earlier in the year (Fichajes).
Idrissa Gana Gueye, the Kante-lite all-rounder plucked from the wreckage of Aston Villa, has performed exceptionally in the Everton midfield, but is expected to depart for the African Cup of Nations in January. With the Senegalese away, Everton manager Ronald Koeman is rather short of options due to another injury to James McCarthy and the ongoing absence of Mo Besic.
Everton could there do worse than to revisit their interest in one of La Liga’s most underrated midfielders. With the distribution of Gareth Barry and the energy of Gueye, Roque Mesa is essentially two players rolled into one. Not too dissimilar to Kante.
According to The Sun, however, The Toffees have competition in the shape of Arsenal and Leicester.
A move to Arsenal, however, is unlikely, as although Francois Coquelin appears unable to mesh his destructive powers with distribution befitting of an Arsenal midfielder, manager Arsene Wenger has more than enough central midfielders at his disposal.
And Leicester’s recent signing of Wilfried Ndidi, another in the Kante mould, suggests they could shut up shop in the January sales.
The way could therefore be clear for Everton.
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