Everton still face uncertainty over £18m-rated “rock” who Lampard can’t afford to lose – opinion

Everton are still waiting for defender Yerry Mina to decide his future as he prepares to enter into the final year of his contract at Goodison Park.

The Columbians former agent has recently spoken to Italian outlet L’Interista where he revealed that Mina has always wanted to play in Italy, and that there has been contact between the player and Inter Milan in the past.

However, he also said that this doesn’t mean the player won’t decide to renew his contract with Everton, and that he expects him to evaluate all the offers on the table and decide where he wants to play.

The £18m-rated defender struggled with injuries last season and missed 25 games, and his absence played a huge part in the club struggling to maintain their Premier League status.

If The Toffees are to avoid a relegation battle next season, then he will play a key part, so Frank Lampard needs to do all he can to persuade him to stay.

However, letting his contract run down is also a bad idea when Everton need to generate funds in order to be able to make new signings.

They can’t risk letting him go for free so making sure he commits his future with a new contract this summer is a must.

Mina moved to Merseyside from FC Barcelona back in 2018 for £27.2m and has made 91 appearances for the club, he’s a fans favourite and could lead the rebuild under Lampard and be guaranteed game time if he stayed.

If you look at his statistics for the 2020/21 Premier League season you can see just how good he can be. He showed composure with the ball ranking in the top 7% for touches in the defensive third and percentage of dribblers tackled.

In comparison to Everton’s two other main centre-backs Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey, he performs better in several areas. His pass