The Brazilian only moved to Hamburg in January but an impressive start to Bundesliga life has got Everton talking.
Everton would probably find it a bit easier to secure their midfield targets if they attempted to make a move before they signed a contract with another club.
However, after missing out on Danish midfielder Thomas Delaney, mainly because he had signed for Werder Bremen just a few months earlier, the Liverpool Echo reported, The Toffees are not going to let a little thing like a contract impede their hopes of beefing up their central midfield.
According to the Daily Mirror, Everton are tracking Brazilian Olympic gold winning midfielder Walace. The fact that he completed an £8 million move to Hamburg in ye olden days of January doesn’t appear to make one jot of difference.
After all, the Daily Mirror add that the perennial Bundesliga strugglers were not expecting the highly-rated 21-year-old to hang around for too long anyway – although it’s fair to say they’ll have their eyes on a decent profit.
Yet, statistically speaking, Walace could be worth the hefty outlay despite Everton hardly lacking in the central midfield department.
Despite starting just two Bundesliga games since his mid-season switch from Gremio, Walace already boasts the highest WhoScored rating of any player in the Hamburg squad – though it’s not exactly difficult to stand out in a team that would suffer vertigo anywhere higher than 15th position.
However, with a thumping header in a stunning 3-0 away win at RB Leipzig to his name, plus an incredible average of six interceptions per game, the highest in the division, and a further 1.5 tackles it’s little surprise this powerful, imposing midfielder has caught the attention of those higher up the footballing ladder.
Just to put that in perspective, Thiago Alcantara boasts the second highest interceptions in the Bundesliga with just 4.1 per game. Everton, meanwhile, can only dream of such numbers. Morgan Schneiderlin’s 2.6 is the highest in the squad. Though for how much longer?
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