Carlo Ancelotti would tarnish his Everton record by completing a deal to sign Sami Khedira in January after the Juventus outcast confirmed that talks had taken place.
What’s the word?
While speaking with Bild, Khedira has confirmed he’s spoken with Ancelotti over a potential move to Goodison Park in the mid-season market as the German continues his search for a route out of Turin.
The 33-year-old has been excluded from Andrea Pirlo’s plans at the Allianz Arena this term, while knee surgery and a tear in the abductor muscle saw Khedira make his most recent Serie A appearance in November 2019.
Reports have suggested Khedira has accepted the fact that his future no longer resides with Juventus, who would like to offload his gargantuan £185,000-per-week contract that runs until the summer.
Khedira has no intentions of waiting until his deal lapses before joining a new side, feeling there is still enough strength and energy in his elderly body to bring something to the pitch again.
“We spoke on the phone and wrote. You know my situation,” Khedira said of talks with Ancelotti. “I’m open to a new sporting challenge.
“I have had a difficult time and want to play football again, fighting for three points week after week. That’s what I long for.
“At the moment, I still have so much strength and energy, so I am not dealing with summer 2021 but with December and January. A change is realistic, my full focus is on that.”
Ancelotti to tarnish transfer record
Ancelotti persisting with a move to sign Khedira, who Shaka Hislop said of last year his “legs are gone”, would see the Italian tarnish his record in charge of Everton just months after setting the tone with the captures of James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
It appeared a sizable coup for Everton to sign Rodriguez from Real Madrid after winning two Champions League titles and two La Liga honours, plus a Bundesliga crown while on loan with Bayern Munich. Something the Blues would only have hoped to build on in future windows.
Khedira would not be the next step in the right direction, though, but rather the opposite, with Ancelotti showing himself to be living firmly in the past by signing another player he worked with years ago.
Everton’s need for a player like Khedira, who turns 34 in April, has also been questioned by former England international Rob Lee, who exclusively told Football FanCast that Ancelotti ought to look elsewhere to solve his real need in the Blues squad.
“Are you buying him for his name and what he’s done in the past? Do they need him? I’m not sure they do. I’m not sure he’s the sort of player they need,” Lee claimed.
“It’s strength in depth what they need. Is he going to come in and be a bit-part player? Probably not. Just hope they are not going to sign him just for the sake of his name.”
AND in other news, a “hungry” Everton maestro is fast becoming Carlo Ancelotti’s main man.
