Why Everton should make a January swoop for David Bates
According to the Sun, Everton are one of a number of Premier League clubs interested in signing Hamburg defender David Bates.
The Scotland U21 star joined Hamburg in the summer on a free transfer from Rangers and has impressed in the Bundesliga 2. The defender has played a big part in the club’s early season form as Hamburg look to bounce back to the Bundesliga.
David Bates has made nine appearances in the league so far this term for Hamburg, and his impressive performances in the defence have caught the attention of Arsenal, Southampton, Leicester City and Watford as well, adds the report.
Everton should try to sign Bates when the transfer window reopens in January. The Toffees have made a decent start to the Premier League campaign under new manager Marco Silva. Under Silva, Everton made some really exciting signings in the summer transfer window.
The Portuguese has made Everton play a really attractive brand of football that has the likes of Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Theo Walcott and Bernard thriving together. The Toffees also look defensively more solid than last season, with Kurt Zouma and Michael Keane slowly forging a strong partnership at the heart of the rearguard.
Zouma has slotted very well in the team following his season-long loan move from Chelsea this summer, while Keane is playing his best football in an Everton shirt. Yerry Mina, a summer acquisition from Barcelona, is waiting on the wings for his chance and so are Mason Holgate and Phil Jagielka who hasn’t played since his sending off against Wolves in Everton’s opening fixture.
To put things into perspective, Jagielka has turned 36 and doesn’t have too much left in his career, while Zouma would head back to Chelsea at the end of the season. Holgate hasn’t inspired at the back when he has got a chance and Ashley Williams is currently on loan at Stoke but is 34.
With Williams and Jagielka in the twilight of their careers and Zouma a temporary part of the Everton set-up, Silva should prioritise signing a central defender in January to avoid any future defensive crisis. And the Portuguese manager would do a wonderful job by landing Bates.
Standing at 6ft 4inches with a towering frame, Bates is a ball-playing centre-back who likes to impose himself on the opposition with his physicality and aerial ability. Good in the air, a strong tackler and a very aggressive defender, the Scotsman has all the qualities to thrive in the Premier League.
Read more: Everton completing a January deal for £16m summer target would be a brilliant move
Going by the quality that he has shown so far, Everton must surely make a move for Bates, although they will have to fight a lot for bagging his signature in January.