Everton opinion: Adrien Tameze could be a good signing for the Toffees

According to the Daily Express, Everton have set their sights on Nice defensive midfielder Andrien Tameze as a replacement for Idrissa Gana Gueye, with the report claiming that the Senegalese ace is on the verge of completing a £28million move to French champions PSG in the coming days. 

Gueye’s move to the Ligue 1 heavyweights is yet to be officially confirmed but the 29-year-old is expected to arrive in Paris to undergo a medical this week, the Express understands. 

Everton though, are wasting no time in looking for alternatives and the Toffees have already drawn up a potential shortlist of candidates to replace Gueye should the Senegalese ace depart Goodison Park this summer. 

Along with Nice midfielder Tameze, Everton have also identified £18million-rated Lyon ace Lucas Tousart as a like-to-like replacement for Gueye, although the Toffees are yet to table an official bid for the Frenchman. (h/t Express)

However, if Marco Silva’s side are genuinely interested in acquiring the services of Tameze, they would need to beat off stiff competition from French side Lille and Monaco, as well as Italian outfit Atalanta in their pursuit of the highly-rated 25-year-old enforcer. (h/t Express)

Tameze was one of the standout performers for Nice in Ligue 1 this past season, as Patrick Vieira’s side finished 7th in the standings. The 25-year-old was one of the mainstays of the team’s midfield and made a total of 37 appearances in the league, chipping in with 3 assists in the process. 

Born in Lille, France, to parents of Cameroonian descent, Tameze rose through the youth ranks of Nancy and largely featured for the club’s reserve side before making a name for himself at Valenciennes in Ligue 2. 

The midfielder’s promising and energetic displays earned him a move to Nice in 2017 and he hasn’t looked back since then, progressing by leaps and bounds over the course of the past couple of seasons.

A former youth international for France, Tameze’s stocks are currently on the rise and at 25, the time might just be right for him to earn a coveted move to the Premier League. 

The 25-year-old has made a total of 75 appearances for Nice in all competitions till date, scoring once and assisting 6 goals in the process.

Tameze registered a pass accuracy rate of 89.1% last season, including 2 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, 1.5 clearances, 0.7 key passes and 2.5 successful long balls per game, figures which are definitely quite impressive for a defensive midfielder. 

To put things into perspective, it is quite clear from the numbers mentioned above that Adrien Tameze, with his high levels of energy, stamina, work rate, tough-tackling nature and game-reading ability, could prove to be an ideal replacement for Idrissa Gueye at Goodison Park next season.

Still only 25, Tameze has lots of time on his side to adapt his game in order to match the demands of playing in the Premier League and his arrival would certainly solve a major issue in a key area of the pitch for Marco Silva.

Gueye was one of the most impressive defensive midfielders in the Premier League last term and whilst it would be unfair to expect someone like Tameze to come through the door and have the same kind of impact immediately, the Frenchman does share a lot of similar attributes with the Senegalese ace.

Conclusion

Tameze’s proficiency in cutting out attacks and controlling the game in the midfield in the French top-flight has been there for everybody to see and one would expect him to gradually make the step up to the Premier League. 

The Toffees have the likes of Tom Davies and Morgan Schneiderlin as useful back-up options in central midfield but Tameze’s powerful presence is exactly what they need in order to extract the best out of Andre Gomes. 

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The Portuguese enforcer formed a formidable midfield pairing with Gueye last term and Tameze would also be expected to play a similar kind of role.