View: Everton may not get James Garner replacement with midfield target

Everton are already making plans for the summer transfer window, with Cesare Casadei linked with a move to Merseyside.

According to a report from Tuttosport, Everton and West Ham have both recently been on scouting missions for Casadei, who plays his football in Serie A with Torino.

The 23-year-old midfielder joined Torino in a reported £12.5million move from Chelsea in February last year, and has been impressing for the Turin-based outfit this season.

After enduring a quite winter transfer window this term, many are expecting the Toffees to push the boat out this summer, with plenty of incomings and outgoings forecasted at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

How do Cesare Casadei and James Garner compare?

James Garner has plenty of transfer admirers, and Everton are set to face a tough test retaining his services beyond this summer.

The central midfielder has been a revelation for the Toffees this season, with two goals and five assists from 29 Premier League appearances.

As such, this reported interest in Casadei may not be a coincidence when it comes to Garner, as Everton chiefs may already be looking for his replacement.

However, Casadei, whilst a talented player and likely to be a solid signing in his own right, may not be the ideal candidate to succeed Garner on Merseyside.

As per Sofascore, Casadei is recording a 76 per cent passing accuracy in Serie A this season, compared to Garner’s 88 per cent in the Premier League.

Casadei has also missed four big chances this term, whilst Garner hasn’t missed any, whilst the former’s expected assists (xA) is 1.28, and the latters being 4.51 respectively.

Garner is also averaging more interceptions per game (1.6 v 0.4), tackles (3.0 v 1.1), clearances (2.4 v 1.0) and less fouls (1.0 v 1.8) this season than Casadei.

As such, Casadei’s numbers are not as close to Garner’s in a lot of key categories as you would ideally like, especially for a player who would surely be coming in as his replacement if he was to leave Merseyside.

Casadei hasn’t proven he can do it in English football

Having joined Chelsea from Inter Milan in 2022, Casadei has got first-team experience across numerous levels of English football under his belt.

He spent half a season on loan with Reading in the Championship in 2022-23, and then the first half of the 2023-24 campaign once again in the second tier, this time with Leicester.

It’s with the Foxes where he’s enjoyed his best performances on these shores, but in the 17 senior appearances he’s made for Chelsea, Casadei hasn’t shown enough to suggest he can do it at the top level in this country yet.

Therefore, Everton would be taking a major gamble on Casadei, and it may not be the kind of signing that gets Toffees supporters overly excited either.

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