Could Marcus Thuram prove to be a low cost/high quality solution to Everton’s scoring woes?
Given that he could be available on a Bosman-style free transfer this summer when his current contract at Borussia Monchengladbach is due to expire, Thuram is proving an enticing prospect for many clubs across Europe. A report in 90 Min reckons the Blues’ Premier League rivals Newcastle United have held talks with the 25-year-old’s representatives as they prepare to battle it out with Serie A side Internazionale for his signature, adding: “Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester and West Ham are all among Thuram’s lengthy list of suitors, with the Gladbach striker expecting plenty of offers this summer ahead of a probable exit from the Bundesliga.”
Everton could certainly do with some additional firepower, that’s for sure. Owner Farhad Moshiri boldly proclaimed during an interview with Jazz Bal, chair of the club’s Fan Advisory Board in January: “If we need a striker, we’ll get one”, only for the Blues to be the only team fighting to stay in the Premier League not to strengthen their squad when the window closed, despite selling Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United for £45million.
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Everton have netted just 22 goals in 28 games so far this season and nobody has scored more than one goal when playing as centre-forward all term. In contrast, Thuram – son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian and with nine caps to date himself – has struck 15 times in 26 games during the current campaign, including 12 in 24 Bundesliga matches.
It’s the fourth time out of the last five seasons that he’s hit double figures with the only exception being 2021/22 when he suffered from a combination off knee injuries and muscular problems while also spending considerable periods of his time on the pitch out on the left wing. However, Thuram has spearheaded the attack whenever called upon this season and with nine games still left to go, has already reached a career-high tally.
Using Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool, Thuram’s statistics can be placed alongside strikers already plying their trade in the Premier League and his 0.51 goals per 90 minutes would be good enough to put him joint eighth in the division alongside Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, a category in which Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is the only player to average over a goal a game (1.11). Everton manager Sean Dyche has also spoken about his mantra of “the bliss to miss” as he encourages his places to get into scoring opportunities and this is also something that Thuram is adept at.
He’s averaging 3 shots a game which is more than Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur (2.98) who has just become the all-time leading scorer for the England national team and only five current Premier League frontmen can better his figure: Liverpool pair Darwin Nunez (4.26) and Mohamed Salah (3.69); Mitrovic (3.4); Haaland (3.32) and Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus (3.16). Indeed when it comes to shots on target, Thuram (1.69) moves up to fourth on the list behind Nunez (2.13); Salah (1.95) and Haaland (1.78).
He can run at defenders as demonstrated by his 3.72 dribbles per 90 minutes which places him seventh (Jesus is top on 6.86) and increases to sixth for 1.99 successful dribbles, another category Jesus leads on 3.99. Thuram’s 6.93 attacking actions is good enough to put him eighth with leader Leon Bailey of Aston Villa on 11.91 while he increases again to sixth for successful attacking actions (3.76), a section which Jesus is ahead on with 5.51.
Some 4.9 touches in the box ensures he creeps into the top 10 (Nunez leads on 7.25) while 5.92 offensive duels won puts him eighth with Jesus the benchmark on 9.28. Such contributions are calculated to give Thuram 0.59 expected goals per game which would put him eighth ahead of Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson and Jesus (both 0.56), a section that Haaland leads on 0.85.
At 6ft 4in, he also cuts an imposing figure and provides the kind of physical presence that Dyche so often deployed with his strikers at Burnley. However, facing such stiff competition, the question remains how Thuram could be tempted to Goodison Park as Everton winning the race for the France international’s signature would potentially represent quite a coup.
Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
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