Everton now eye late swoop for £4.5m-rated "big talent", he's miles better than Keane - opinion

Everton have not made any signings since they sacked Rafa Benitez earlier this month but had already made three additions under Benitez’s guidance.

However, now Duncan Ferguson could be set to make his first signing for the club whilst he manages the side until a new boss is appointed.

According to Sport1, Everton are amongst a number of clubs interested in signing Schalke defender, Malick Thiaw, during the January transfer window.

The report suggests that Everton have competition from AC Milan, Napoli and West Ham United with a €6m (£5m) bid from Milan already rejected, and the young Bundesliga star is reportedly looking for his next challenge.

Everton are currently having a season of nightmares, with the side only winning five of their Premier League games so far, conceding 11 more goals than they have scored, with several poor defensive performances put on display both home and away.

One particular performance that triggered the end of Benitez’s career as the Toffees manager was against Norwich City at Carrow Road, when Michael Keane scored an own goal that opened up the game early for the Canaries, putting them in a position to win 2-1 resulting in the tenth defeat of the season for Everton.

According to Squawka, when you compare Keane’s season to Thiaw’s campaign in the league so far, the 20-year-old has completed over 300 more passes in his own half, won more ground and aerial duels and has twice as many clean sheets than his 29-year-old counterpart.

With age on his side, Thiaw could become a hot prospect worth developing and integrating into the Everton defence if they signed him. With that in mind, it’s clear to see why the youngster has been dubbed a “big talent” by talent scout Jacek Kulig on Twitter.

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