Everton supporters are bracing themselves for Amadou Onana's exit from Goodison Park this summer, but they should fear not as there is a ready-made replacement waiting to join.
Onana is reportedly being targeted by Chelsea should they fail to sign top target Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Hove Albion, with the Seagulls refusing to budge on their nine-figure valuation.
Everton are themselves said to be after £55m for Onana, which the big-spending Blues would likely pay, and the Toffees can then sign as good a player – if not better – for half of that fee.
What are the latest Everton transfer rumours?
According to the Daily Mail, Sean Dyche's side have already made enquiries over Leeds United midfielder Tyler Adams, though the United States international is also wanted by Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and indeed Brighton.
The report suggests that the 5 foot 9 ace could be the subject of a £25m bid from the Seagulls.
Is Tyler Adams an upgrade on Amadou Onana for Everton?
Adams may have suffered relegation from the Premier League in his first season with Leeds, having only joined from RB Leipzig for a reported £20m last summer, but his reputation as a tough-tackling midfielder remains intact.
The American ranked joint-fourth in the Premier League last season in terms of tackles, level with Manchester United's Casemiro on 89, as per FBref. To put that in some perspective, Onana ranked 16th in the division with 72.
Adams (50) also ranked second, behind only Fulham's Joao Palhinha (71), for dribblers tackled in last season's Premier League, while he ranked tenth for tackles and interceptions combined (129).
That translates to 5.17 combined tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes for Adams, compared to 3.95 for Onana, the man he may be brought in to replace by Everton.
Not only would the Toffees be bringing in one of the finest around at breaking up play – he ranks in the top 4% of all midfielders across Europe's top five leagues in that metric, as per The Analyst – they also have a natural leader in the engine room, as pointed out by former Leeds boss Jesse Marsch.
"We used to have conversations in New York about whether we make Tyler the captain at 17, 18 years old," Marsch told The Athletic of the pair's time together at New York Red Bulls. "Everyone talked about his potential as a leader."
Adams is also comfortable on the ball, ranking in the top 17% of midfielders in the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A for average number of touches per game, whereas Onana is in the bottom 14%.
The 24-year-old does not provide any sort of attacking threat, as highlighted by the fact he is in the lowest 2% of his positional peers across Europe's elite leagues for shots taken, but that is not what Everton are after.
In some ways, a bid from Chelsea for Onana should almost be welcomed by Everton. Not only will they be able to bring in a player for half the cost at £25m, as per the Daily Mail report, but they will also have money left over to strengthen other troublesome positions in the hope of a more positive 2023/24.
