Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Everton: Transfer expert reacts after deal 'agreed in principle' with rivals
Everton can look to deploy Jake O'Brien as a central defender if they can complete a move to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka from West Ham United.
That is the opinion of former senior Everton scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The 28-year-old has emerged as a serious option for the Toffees in recent days, alongside several other players.
However, Football Insider revealed on Friday morning that Aston Villa have reached an agreement in principle to sign the DR Congo international, who has made more than 230 Premier League appearances.
It would require the deal to collapse for the Merseysiders to climb into pole position for the West Ham man.
Everton have been attempting to sign a right-back all summer and have been linked with countless names, including Alistair Johnston, Daniel Munoz and Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
Wan-Bissaka may well represent a slightly cheaper option, having been relegated with West Ham last season, yet his wages will still be significant.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 'could certainly' do Everton job
It has been a massively frustrating transfer window for Everton, who have seriously struggled to sign a defender.
Seamus Coleman's exit has been known about for months. As have the injuries to Jarrad Branthwaite, David Moyes' reluctance to use Adam Aznou and the ageing of both James Tarkowski and Michael Keane.
Yet Everton have sat on their hands and passed up chance after chance to sign a right-back, while seemingly not even looking at a centre-back.
Thankfully, the signing of Wan-Bissaka could potentially solve two problems at once, allowing O'Brien to move into the middle while also being capable of playing the position himself.
"You're bringing in somebody like this boy from West Ham, he's a bit older, he's 28, he plays right back," King told Football Insider.
"They're still looking for that position because of Coleman's retirement. Definitely a difficult position to fill after Coleman."
Asked about O'Brien's role, he added: "I like him. Is he better suited as a central defender? You knew you were going to lose Coleman on the back end of last season when he said he was going to retire.
"So I would imagine they've been looking at that position, and this is certainly someone [Wan-Bissaka] who could fill that position."
What would Wan-Bissaka bring to Everton?
Wan-Bissaka has been recognised as a solid Premier League right-back for several years now.
Last season was a poor one for the 28-year-old just as it was for West Ham, but he still impressed in a number of metrics.
Wan-Bissaka averaged 1.73 interceptions, 4.06 clearances, 3.24 recoveries and 1.43 tackles per game, winning 48.5 per cent of his duels.
The defender also completed 38.1 per cent of his crosses and averaged 0.78 chances created per game. Should Everton be able to sign him, they will be adding seasoned quality to their backline.