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da leao： According to Football Insider, Everton have set their sights on West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell ahead of a potential summer swoop.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Toffees have been keeping tabs on the England international whilst the future of 34-year-old Leighton Baines remains up in the air – his contract is set to expire next month and it remains to be seen if he’ll be offered fresh terms.
Regardless of that, Everton are in the market for a left-back to play understudy to first choice Lucas Digne and have identified Cresswell as an option given his experience and price tag.
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The aforementioned report states that the Hammers will likely want double the £4m they spent on acquiring the 29-year-old from Ipswich in 2014 – Cresswell has two years remaining on his contract with the Irons.
Ideal Baines replacement
There are many similarities between Baines and Cresswell.
Both of them are England internationals. Both of them are excellent technicians, and both of them are also experienced Premier League regulars with plenty of appearances under their belt.
Cresswell featured just 20 times in the league this season as he shared left-back duties with Arthur Masuaku, suggesting that he will presumably be okay to do the same with Digne as he shouldn’t expect to start at Goodison Park.
Baines offered a reliable, calm head on experienced shoulders as well as the know-how to step in and competently support the first-choice left-back, but his advancing years mean someone else must perform this role behind Digne.
Director of Football Marcel Brands said that the club would be targeting young players and wouldn’t invest big money in older players, with the 20-25/26 age bracket being used to target the right option.
However, whilst he is 29 years of age, Cresswell’s modest £50,000-a-week earnings, reasonable price tag and familiarity with a bit-part role make him the ideal Baines replacement for Everton.