Noussair Mazraoui holds all the cards at Ajax and would earn a big pay rise if he left the Dutch giants for Premier League outfit Everton, former Eredivisie ace Kenneth Perez tells ESPN’s Voetbal Talk.
One swallow does not make a summer and one dramatic, come-from-behind victory does not rectify five years of mismanagement.
We don’t want to rain on Everton’s parade in the aftermath of that stunning, stoppage-time win over Arsenal at a bouncing Goodison Park.
But Demarai Gray’s scorching long-range strike, securing the club’s first win in nine Premier League games, felt very much like a papering-over-the-cracks sort of an exercise.
Yes, Everton were much improved on Monday night, more aggressive and more organised than at any point in the last two months, but it must be said that they were up against an Arsenal side who looked about as threatening as a tired old mule in the Grand National.
Everton still need a new centre-forward.
They could do with a midfielder or two as well, not to mention cover in both full-back positions. T
he problem is, after years of over-indulgence, Farhad Moshiri has Everton on a rather strict diet these days, limited to a summer spend of just £1.7 million due to ongoing Financial Fair Play concerns.
Could Everton sign Ajax’s Noussair Mazraoui?
But if they are planning to do what they should have done years ago in January – and finally bring in some much-needed competition for the ageing Seamus Coleman – Everton could do a lot worse than Mazraoui.
Especially when you consider that one of Europe’s most exciting young right-backs will become a free-agent next summer.
“If you sign for Everton instead of Ajax, you’ll get a lot more (money),” says Perez, a former Amsterdam Arena favourite.
“Let’s say Ajax might want to go up to 1.5 million euros (a season). If he signs with Everton for free and he gets four million, that’s attractive.”
Mazraoui has been linked with both Arsenal and Leeds United recently but Perez believes that the swashbuckling Morocco international would be better off staying pout.
“I would advise him to stay with Ajax,” Perez adds.
“If it doesn’t quite work out (at a new club), you got him on a free transfer. If a club is done with him after six months or a year, they can sell him for a few million.
“But if you are bought for twenty or thirty million euros, then there is a greater chance that they really have a plan for you.”
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