Sources: Everton swoop for Centonze as January price tag revealed
Everton are among a host of Premier League clubs chasing Metz defender Fabien Centonze, Football Insider understands.
The 25-year-old is a right-back with one of the best statistical profiles in France and an impressive record in attacking and defensive positions.
An Everton source has told Football Insider that Centonze is on their radar going into January as they look to strengthen at right-back.
Manager Rafael Benitez will have a relatively small transfer budget to work with once again in the upcoming window.
He has identified a new right-back as a priority to provide cover and competition for Seamus Coleman, who turned 33 in October.
Centonze is valued at around £8million and has a contract with Metz that runs until the summer of 2024.
Benitez has taken charge of Everton recruitment following the departure of Marcel Brands as director of football earlier this month.
Brands was followed out of the exit door by head of recruitment Gretar Rafn Steinsson – as first revealed by Football Insider – as the bloodletting intensified.
Centonze has impressed during the last couple of seasons in Ligue 1 with lowly Metz.
He has caught the eye with four goals and one assist from 16 league matches this season in a side struggling at the wrong end of the table.
He also has a high level of interceptions, highlighting his ability to spot danger and clear effectively.
Unsurprisingly his stand-out displays have brought him onto the radar of several Premier League clubs.
He told Canal Plus in an interview last summer that Marseille had been interested in capturing him.
In other news, Everton told to get star “off the wage bill” after Kieran Maguire’s mega-money reveal.