There are not very many at Everton who would wax lyrical about the club’s woeful January transfer window, despite the managerial acquisition of Sean Dyche to spearhead the fight against the threat of relegation from the Premier League.
The Toffees were the only top-flight club in England to fail to make a single signing in January despite a dreadful term thus far that has left the club in the relegation zone after 21 matches, with just four wins all season.
One particular deal that owner Farhad Moshiri will rue failing to complete is Shakhtar Donetsk’s wily winger Tete, who joined Leicester City instead.
According to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, the Blues were indeed looking to battle against City to land the phenom in the closing stages of the January market, who could’ve been the perfect replacement for Anthony Gordon, who signed for Newcastle United in a £45m deal.
Heralded as a “hurricane” by Shakhtar CEO Sergei Perkin, the 22-year-old gem, who was valued at £21m by his outfit last year, could certainly have brought the unabating storm that has scarcely been seen on Merseyside from an attacking standpoint this season, with Everton indeed having only scored 16 goals in the Premier League – behind only Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Having signed for the Foxes on a six-month loan deal in the dying embers of the winter market, Tete made a resounding entrance to English football and reminded Everton just what they had missed out on after curling a wonderful strike into the back of the Aston Villa net at Villa Park in a recent 4-2 victory.
In this match, the Brazilian ace recorded an excellent match rating of 7.7, as per Sofascore, with his goal complemented by an 81% pass success rate, six successful dribbles from seven attempts and winning 11 of his 14 around duels.
And as per FBref, Tete ranks among the top 12% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe for rate of both goals and assists, also in the top 12% for successful take-ons and the top 17% for progressive carries, illustrating both a stellar direct threat and a transitional approach that Everton are simply yearning for right now.
He is also listed as a comparable player to Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, who has emerged as one of the most prodigious talents across the entire scope of the professional game since breaking into the German giants’ first team.
This season alone, he has scored an incredible 14 goals and ten assists from just 22 starts, making discernible improvements on his previous campaign where he plundered 14 direct contributions from 40 matches.
With the German Musiala ranking among the top 7% of positional peers for rate of non-penalty goals, the top 11% for assists and the top 11% for successful take-ons, there are unequivocally striking similarities between himself and Tete, who very much could have emulated Musiala’s success as the focal point of Bayern.
While the Toffees did indeed clinch a galvanising victory over Premier League high-fliers Arsenal in a shocking upset that lifted the roof off Goodison Park to thunderous applause, the trepidation of many fans over the prospects of maintaining a charge to stave off the drop remains.
Optimism is somewhat replenished for the Blues, but the ride would be far less rocky with someone of Tete’s ilk in the mix.
