Everton are reportedly ramping up their interest in Djene Dakonam.
According to The Sun, Everton are focusing on Getafe’s Djene Dakonam amid fears that Kurt Zouma won’t be returning to the club from Chelsea this summer.
The Toffees are hoping to bring back loanee Zouma after a strong season at Goodison Park, but boss Marco Silva is allegedly fearful that the Frenchman won’t be available.
That means that Everton are having to change their plans, and it’s stated that Arsenal boss Unai Emery believes the Toffees will beat him to the £30million signature of Dakonam.
Arsenal’s budget is modest after missing out on Champions League football, and with Everton spending heavily under Farhad Moshiri, they may be able to blow Arsenal away in the race for Dakonam.
Dakonam, 27, is something of a late bloomer. He started out in Togo, Benin and Cameroon, before heading on to play for Alcorcon, Sint-Truidense and now Getafe, joining as an unknown in 2017.
Now, the Togolese international is one of La Liga’s top defenders. He helped Getafe finish fifth in La Liga, only narrowly missing out on the Champions League, with his outstanding performances and remarkable rise now attracting interest.
Dakonam doesn’t come without questions though. He turns 28 in December, and whilst he’s quick, strong, a great reader of the game and decent on the ball, he is only 5ft 10 in tall – a little on the short side for a centre back.
Zouma, by comparison, is 6ft 3in tall. Everton will get some of that height back with the return to fitness of Yerry Mina, but going for a shorter centre back – especially one hitting elite football so late in his career and at a major price at £30million – would be something of a surprise from Silva and Marcel Brands.
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