Arsenal, Chelsea target destined for move to ‘bigger’ club after mirroring 177-game Everton favourite
Everton are facing a struggle to keep hold of one of their most important players after being linked with Arsenal and Chelsea, according to a report.
It has been a turbulent season for Everton, who sacked Frank Lampard in January. Now, Sean Dyche is the man trying to keep them in the Premier League. At the time of the March international break, the standings show them in 15th place.
However, Everton are only two points above the relegation zone. Furthermore, four of the five teams below them in the table have games in hand.
Therefore, there is still plenty of uncertainty at Goodison Park. Some of their players might be considering their futures already.
For example, summer signing Amadou Onana was beginning to attract interest in January after making a decent impression in his first half a season in the Premier League.
However, he chose to reject the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal in order to stay and help Everton fight for their top-flight status.
Nevertheless, Onana is still attracting interest ahead of the summer transfer window. And according to Het Laatste Nieuws in his native Belgium, “bigger clubs have him on their radar”.
It isn’t specifically mentioned whether Arsenal and Chelsea are still looking at him, but it can be assumed that is probably the case to some extent.
They each strengthened their midfield in January, with Arsenal taking Jorginho from Chelsea and the Blues filling the gap by breaking the British transfer record on Enzo Fernandez.
However, there could still be room in each of their midfields for further business in the summer. Most of Arsenal’s options there are around the age of 30, for example, so they will be evaluating ideas for the long term.
Chelsea will be having similar thoughts, even if the chances of N’Golo Kante extending his contract now seem to be increasing.
Who else could be in contention to sign Onana remains to be seen. His contract with Everton is due to last until 2027, for what it’s worth.
Onana earns comparison to former Everton favourite
The report by HLN even compares his impact so far to that of his compatriot, Marouane Fellaini, who played 177 times for the club between 2008 and 2013.
Thanks to his development, Onana is expected to take on more prominence with the Belgian national team soon. He already has four caps to his name and there could be many more to come.
At club level, though, the 21-year-old’s future is still all to play for.
Onana has made 28 appearances for Everton so far, contributing one goal and one assist. Only four players have played more for the club this season.
Dyche has used Onana as a starter in all eight of the matches he has overseen since taking the reins from Lampard in late January. Whether he will still be able to call upon him next season is another matter.
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