Everton appear to have dodged a bullet by failing to get a deal for Santiago Sosa across the line in 2019, given the defensive midfielder’s form with current side River Plate.
What’s the word?
According to Ole via Sport Witness, Everton had reached an agreement with River Plate to sign Sosa in the summer of 2019 during Marco Silva’s final market at the helm, but failed to see the deal rubber-stamped by the Premier League.
It’s claimed that league officials blocked the €15million (£13.5m) move, likely through issues relating to his need for a work permit, which would not have surfaced just days later when the 21-year-old secured a European passport.
The passport arrived just too late for Sosa to be registered for Everton and the deal never saw the light of day again, much to River Plate’s benefit as the Argentina U20 international is now being lauded by Ole for his form in South America.
However, when assessed on paper, Everton appear to have dodged a bullet thanks to the Premier League’s decision as Sosa is far from showing himself to be the defensive midfield enforcer Silva required at the time.
Why was Sosa not the answer?
During murmurs that Sosa could struggle obtaining a work permit in order to sign for Everton, the Liverpool Echo suggested he was a “tenacious and aggressive” player when out of possession while boasting the skillset of “a hybrid between a number six and a number eight”.
Information remains thin for the 5 ft 10 River Plate product, but Transfermarkt data shows he has seen a marginal decrease in his market value since the Toffees’ interest while rarely entering the first-team squad in their 2019/20 Superliga efforts.
All in, Sosa made only two noted appearances last season, while playing just 125 minutes in the group stages of the 2020 Copa Libertadores over three outings with one start.
His efforts in those Copa Libertadores fixtures would by no means suggest he would have made a successful adaption to the Premier League last year, as Sosa has averaged just 0.3 tackles, 0.3 interceptions, 1.0 key balls and 0.7 shots a game along with winning a mere 0.7 ground duels and 1.0 aerial duels, per SofaScore.
Had Everton spent €15m on Sosa and seen a similar output, questions would have been raised over Silva’s pursuit of a player the BBC’s South American football correspondent Tim Vickery described as an old-fashioned type.
“Sosa is a holding midfielder, better at picking a pass than the defensive side of his game,” Vickery told the All Football App. “He’s got a little bit of old-fashioned swagger. In the old days in Argentina, that No. 5 was the boss of the team, the man who played the vital first pass out of defence.
“But the thing with him is it’s so early. He’s only played a handful of games for River Plate, when they’ve fielded an under-strength side, so if Everton buy him now, to go straight into the first-team would be a massive step up.
“He’s one for the long-term and looks promising. He would worry me a little bit with his lack of pace for the defensive side of his duties, but he’s certainly an interesting player with the ball at his feet.”
AND in other news, Everton are yet to open talks with a key club figure who’s set to be out of contract next summer.