Everton were given the opportunity to snap up 25-year-old Colombian right-back Daniel Munoz late in the transfer window this summer.
A new report from Fiorentina.it has shed some light on the transfer saga of Daniel Munoz. The 25-year-old KRC Genk defender was linked with a move to a bigger club in the summer and as revealed by one of the members of the MYM Sports Agency, he was indeed offered to multiple clubs including Everton.
“Daniel Munoz’s negotiation with Fiorentina stems from my collaboration with Sasha Baranov and Niche Guerrero (former Bari striker, ed); we were offering the player to Rafa Benitez’s Everton, but then we also talked about it with Fiorentina,” said Diego Carannante of the said player management agency.
However, it appears neither of the two clubs were all too keen on snapping up Munoz, with Fiorentina only willing to fork out €8 million, falling short of Genk’s €15 million demands. It saw the 25-year-old defender ultimately remaining in Belgium, although many believe he could soon be on the move, perhaps as early as the January transfer window.
Indeed, the Colombian is highly rated in the Genk camp, having enjoyed a lot of success since joining Atletico Nacional last summer. The South America ace made 34 league appearances in Jupiler Pro League last term, registering six assists and emerging as the undisputed number one right-back for the Belgian outfit.
A right-back by trade, Munoz has turned a lot of heads with his ability to influence the game in the final third. It is indicated by the defender’s tally of six assists last season, but perhaps more importantly, he is quite versatile and is able to operate as a centre-back, if required.
It essentially means that the 25-year-old is a well-rounded full-back, who can make a difference going forward but is also well-aware of his defensive chores. As such, he could have been an ideal fix to Everton’s right-back problems this season.
There is no secret that the Toffees were in the market for a new right-back in the summer, especially with Seamus Coleman in the final phase of his career. Rafa Benitez did not have much success, though, with Arsenal most notably blocking Everton’s move for Ainsley Maitland-Niles, leaving the player frustrated.
So it will be interesting to see how Everton fare this season without any reinforcements in the right-back department. It appears Benitez is keeping his faith in Jonjoe Kenny for now, but he will certainly keep an eye on the development of Munoz during the first half of the campaign.