Even the darkest of clouds sometimes have a silver lining.
And while Everton supporters would understandably have struggled to see the positives in the recent 4-1 EFL Cup defeat at AFC Bournemouth, the upside is that, after such a dire display, there would be very little justification for the Toffees to offer fresh terms to a number of out-of-contract players who have underperformed for far to long.
Yerry Mina, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Tom Davies all started at the Vitality Stadium on that miserable Tuesday night. Mina looked like a man running through treacle as he struggled to keep up with Bournemouth’s fleet-footed forwards, while Doucoure was almost non-existent during his 81 minutes on the pitch.
Davies, meanwhile, set the tone for his own performance by spooning a more-than-presentable opportunity over the bar early on. That was only the academy graduate’s third start of the entire campaign. With Sky Germany reporting that Everton are lining up a potential January move for Hoffenheim’s Dennis Geiger, what are the chances that it’s also his last?
Tom Davies out, Dennis Geiger in at Everton?
24-year-old Geiger, who has spent his entire professional career with Hoffenheim, betters Davies in almost every attribute. He averages more tackles per game, more interceptions, and is a far more considered, intelligent user of the ball. Davies’ pass completion rate (a frankly abysmal 73 per cent) does not come close to Geiger’s (87 per cent, WhoScored).
Five years after bursting onto the scene amid such lofty expectations at Goodison Park, questions remain about what it is Davies actually brings to the party. Geiger, in contrast, is precisely the opposite; a bonafide jack-of-all-trades.
“He’s a real live-wire on the pitch. With a few more improvements, he can be like (Bayern Munich’s) Joshua Kimmich,” former Hoffenheim team-mate Sandro Wagner tells the Bundesliga website.
“I feel happiest in the number six role,” Geiger himself explains to Kicker. “Where I can affect the game the most. But I don’t mind playing as a ‘number eight’ either. It doesn’t make much difference to me.”
Geiger’s contract, like that of Davies, expires in the summer of 2023. Everton, if they are willing to wait, can sign Geiger on a free next summer. Or, failing that, for a substantially reduced fee in January.
The the 5ft 8ins pocket-rocket might not have developed quite as rapidly as some had predicted once upon a time; Sport1 claiming that Pep Guardiola was hoping to lure him to Manchester City following his Bundesliga breakthrough.
But a player of Geiger’s poise and elegance could still be an inspired addition to an Everton midfield lacking in both attributes.
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