Linked with Everton in the summer, Roque Mesa has only started one Premier League game for Swansea City
The stats suggested that Swansea City had pulled off a real coup landing Roque Mesa from Las Palmas in the summer.
The moustached metronome averaged the second most passes of any player in La Liga last season, boasted the fourth-highest pass completion rate while only Steven N’Zonzi made more successful tackles per game.
At £11 million, one of La Liga’s most underrated players looked like a truly inspired signing, as reported by Wales Online. That was then, however, and these days you’d be forgiven for forgetting that the deal ever happened.
Forgotten man
Though Mesa told Canarias Radio earlier this month that he is determined to be a success at Swansea and is not contemplating a return to Spain in January, the fact that he has made just one league start all season suggests he has a lot to do to win over manager Paul Clement.
In total, a player once compared to none other than Xavi has played just 133 minutes of Premier League football – and none since a 1-0 defeat to West Ham in September.
But perhaps a struggling Swansea lacking any sort of identity is the wrong club for an undoubtedly talented midfielder.
Marca reported earlier in the year that Everton were looking at Mesa too.
And while The Toffees are not short on midfielders, Mesa would perhaps have been a much better fit at Goodison Park. The 28-year-old is renowned for his ball-winning and passing abilities, skills that would have come in useful in an Everton team who try to dominate possession.
Mesa’s ability to protect a defence with both tenacity and technique may also have prevented The Toffees from posting the league’s second worst goals against tally after 11 games played in 2017/18.
In short, Mesa fits Everton’s style – and possesses the pragmatic attributes that a lethargic team has been missing all season.
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