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Everton trying to bolster their defensive options

Everton are trying to bolster their defensive options before the transfer window closes next week

With his new, beefed-up midfield and an attack led by the in-form Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton manager, Carlo Ancelotti, is keen to address his centre-back situation.

When asked about seeking defensive recruits, the boss said this weekend: “We are going to have a look and we will see.”

Ancelotti’s backline has been depleted by injuries to Mason Holgate and Jarrad Branthwaite, forcing the Blues to consider the market once more.

In terms of targets, two names have been repeatedly mentioned, with Chelsea’s Fikayo Tomori and Barcelona’s Jean-Clair Todibo both having been linked in recent weeks.

With Everton potentially plotting a deal, we compare the two young defenders and explain what Ancelotti’s interest in them tells us about his overall vision.

The first comparison that can be made between Tomori and Todibo is their relatively tender age.

Todibo is 20 and Tomori is 22, meaning they are both still in the early stages of their development compared to Michael Keane and Yerry Mina.

Tomori is able to boast much more first-team experience. While Todibo has only made 25 senior appearances with Toulouse, Barcelona and Schalke, Tomori’s development was aided significantly by his loan spell at Derby County during the 2018/19 season, during which he played under current Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.

Tomori made a significant impact during his year at Pride Park, starting 43 Championship games as the Rams narrowly missed out on promotion, losing the play-off final to Aston Villa.

Todibo’s journey through senior football has not yielded quite the same number of opportunities. In January 2019, just five months after breaking into the Toulouse first team, he reached an agreement to join Barcelona in the summer ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.

However, when Barcelona decided to bring the transfer forward, he moved to the Camp Nou for the second half of the 2018/19 season, managing only two appearances under Ernesto Valverde.

A year later, having failed to make an impact at Barca, the French youngster joined Schalke on loan for the remainder of the 2019/20 season.

While he experienced slightly enhanced first-team opportunities in Germany, Schalke decided against making his loan deal permanent, leaving Todibo with an uncertain future.

Statistically, Tomori and Todibo bear some similarities, namely interceptions and passing.

At Derby, Tomori managed 62 interceptions throughout the Championship season, whereas Todibo managed nine during his brief spell at Schalke, as per FBref.

Typically modern centre-backs, both players are comfortable with the ball at their feet. They both like to play short passes and are adept at stepping up into midfield. With Allan now a willing receiver at the base of Ancelotti’s midfield, the Blues could benefit from a defender with passing skills.

read also:Lampard explains going with Tomori ahead of Rudiger

While Keane and Mina are strong at defending the box and winning aerial battles, they are not known as ball-playing centre-backs.

Adding either Tomori or Todibo would offer Ancelotti the option of pairing a technically sound young defender with a more experienced head, giving the Blues a different dynamic to their backline and how they build attacks.

And their passing would be key to such a philosophy. At Chelsea last season, for example, Tomori tended to keep his passes on the ground, with 884 ground passes compared to just 141 balls that ascended above head height.

There is perhaps a tendency for Everton fans to favour Tomori. Having shone at Derby, he has shown a great deal of potential and could perhaps be afforded the regular first-team football his development needs at Everton.

Meanwhile, Todibo’s quality cannot be denied, and while he has struggled to progress over the last 18 months due to a lack of consistent action, the fact that he signed for Barcelona a month after turning 19 suggests that he has the pedigree to make it at the top.

Tomori and Todibo are relatively similar centre-backs. They are both prospects that need to be honed, but they possess the attributes to change the complexion of how Everton progress out from the back.

Having already impressed with their business this summer, either centre-half would be another intriguing addition to the Ancelotti project at Goodison Park.

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