Everton target Keven Schlotterbeck, a good deal?

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Bengaluru, February 15: Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti is keen on getting a new centre-back this summer and has set his sights on an inexpensive option from Bundesliga who has an immense potential, according to reports in England.

It is reported that £6.75 million-rated Freiburg defender Keven Schlotterbeck has emerged as a surprise summer transfer target for the Toffees. However, the Merseyside outfit will have to fend off interest from a host of other clubs in order to secure the signature of the 23-year-old defender.

While the Toffees already have Mason Holgate, Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina and Michael Keane on the books, it is widely reported that Ancelotti is still looking for further options at the heart of his defence and Schlotterbeck is a player who looks like a very interesting option. He is young and promising and also available for a relatively low fee.

Everton have fared pretty decent defensively since Ancelotti took over at the Goodison Park but their defensive record is still the seventh best in the division which means there is plenty of room for improvement and we expect a manager of Ancelotti's caliber to do everything in his powers to improve in whatever way possible.

Schlotterbeck only returned to his current club Freiburg after spending the 2019-20 season on loan with FC Union Berlin to replace Koch at the Schwarzwald-Stadion, and has since started 13 of his 14 Bundesliga appearances after being inserted into Streich’s plans in November.

Freiburg had won just one of their first eight German top-flight fixtures before Schlotterbeck made his first start of the term, but have since won seven of the following 12 while keeping three clean sheets to shoot up to the eighth position in the table. The 23-year-old was also thoroughly impressive for Union Berlain on loan last season.

Everton have mostly used the the duo of Mina and Keane at the heart of their defence this season and while Schlotterbeck's profile might not be as popular, his efforts in Germany have often been at a higher level than the options Everton have right now. He has made 1.4 successful tackles a game in the Bundesliga this term, compared to 0.8 from both Mina and Keane.

Schlotterbeck also has more interceptions (2) compared to any other Everton defender (Godfrey, 1.6, has the most), clearances (5.2, Mina has a team-high of 4.7) and significantly more ground duels won (3.2) than both Mina (1.7) or Keane (0.9).

From the statistics, it is quite evident that Schlotterbeck has been much superior in comparison to the Everton defenders in almost every department. The only department where he loses out to Yerry Mina is aerial duels and that is quite understandable considering Mina is 6'5" and Schlotterbeck is 6'2".

The German is also a capable passer with a passing accuracy of 80% to his name this season. For a fee of just £6.75 million, Everton could land a bargain by signing the 23-year-old Freiburg star.