Everton are reportedly keen to reinforce their defence by signing Brazilian defender Felipe from Atletico Madrid.
According to Daily Mail, Premier League side Everton are interested in securing the services of Atletico Madrid defender Felipe in the 2023 January transfer window.
The 33-year-old made a name for himself in Europe with Porto before moving to Atletico Madrid in 2019. He has since developed into a key player for Diego Simeone. Felipe has made 112 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring four goals and assisting one.
Age is finally appearing to catch up with the Brazilian, and he is largely a backup player this season. With just three appearances for the club across all fronts in 2022/23, his influence at the club appears to be on the wane.
An experienced defender, Felipe is a force to be reckoned with in the air and is also adept at reading the game technically. A leader of sorts, he will certainly add some steel to what has been a spineless Toffees defence.
Frank Lampard’s side are once again involved in the relegation battle, struggling to pull away from the bottom three. Heading into week 19, Everton are 18th in the table, with just three wins in the league.
The Toffees have found the back of the net just 14 times this season, and also lost star striker Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur. This profligacy in front of the goal has added further pressure on the defence, something they have been unable to deal with so far.
Everton have several centre-backs on their radar. James Tarkowski and Conor Coady arrived in the summer to further supplement a roster that included Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate and Michael Keane. However, neither addition has risen to the challenge, largely looking as clueless as those around them.
Felipe is not the fastest of players and is also well acquainted with the ‘dark arts’ inspired by Diego Simeone. At the very least, he should make up for the lack of pace with positioning, leadership and fighting spirit. The latter two are exactly what the Toffees need at the moment.
Lampard will, however, face competition from fellow Premier League side, Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Molineux outfit are already in talks with the player, and unless Everton act fast, they could end up losing a potential difference-making player to a direct rival.
