Everton should renew Etienne Capoue interest – he’s better value than Morgan Schneiderlin

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The Watford midfielder would surely cost a fraction of Schneiderlin’s price.

If Everton thought the arrival of billionaire businessman Farhad Moshiri as majority shareholder was guaranteed to usher in an opulent new era of marquee signings then the last few months have brought any dreams crashing down to reality.

According to The Guardian, Manchester United have turned down Everton’s £19 million offer for Morgan Schneiderlin. They add that the Old Trafford giants are determined to recoup each and every penny of the £24 million they paid Southampton for a player who has featured in just 11 minutes of Premier League action all season.

It’s not the first time this season The Toffees have been left frustrated in the market.

Moussa Sissoko, Lucas Perez, Axel Witsel, Manolo Gabbiadini and Rachid Ghezzal could all be wearing Everton blue right now and, with The Sun adding that Jose Mourinho would sooner farm Schneiderlin out to Serie A and Inter Milan than strengthening a Premier League rival, the French international could be the latest big name to slip through the net.

However, perhaps Everton could do with lowering their threshold slightly.

Schneiderlin may be a respected Premier League midfielder on the back of an excellent few seasons on the South Coast but, if The Toffees really want to push on and develop, they must target players based on their form than their name.

Back in 2013, the Daily Star claimed that Everton were closing in on the £10 million signing of French midfielder Etienne Capoue and, three and a half years on, they could do worse than to renew their interest.

The Telegraph tip Everton as a potential destination for Capoue if he decides to up sticks from Vicarage Road and the 28-year-old has been in exceptional form for Watford at times this season, scoring five goals from his box-to-box midfield role and emerging as one of the most impressive all-rounders outside the European positions.

And a quick scour of the stats suggests there’s very little between Capoue and Schneiderlin in terms of their contribution at either end of the pitch.

In fact, the one major difference between them would be the price tag. Schneiderlin has done very little in a year-and-a-half at Old Trafford to suggest he could enhance Ronald Koeman’s XI but Capoue, on the other hand, is performing far above the levels of a mid-table side.