Frank Lampard made some excellent decisions during the summer transfer market that have given Everton a solid foundation to build on this season as they chase a top-half Premier League finish.
Signing Conor Coady, James Tarkowski and Amadou Onana has created a spine in the team which has seen them concede just 12 goals in 11 top flight fixtures so far.
With the January window fast approaching, the onus is on Lampard to move a few players who aren’t justifying their wage, and defender Yerry Mina should be one of them.
Mina must go
The Colombian centre-back is earning £120k-per-week and having played just once in the Premier League this season due to injury, he is not justifying this massive weekly outlay.
In fact, since joining the Toffees in the summer of 2018 from Barcelona, Mina has missed 60 matches for the club, playing 91 times in over four seasons.
According to Calcio Dangolo (via Sport Witness), AS Roma are interested in bringing Mina to Serie A as they are on the hunt for a centre-back.
Will Everton finish in the top half this season?
Yes
No
With his contract expiring at the end of the season and the club not willing to renew his deal, recouping some of the £27.2m fee they splashed out on the player will be one of Lampard’s main aims during the winter window.
With Coady and Tarkowski forming an excellent partnership in the heart of the defence, even when Mina does become fit, there is no guarantee he will oust any of them from the starting XI.
Journalist Martin Mucha described Mina as a “titan” following his performances for Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, becoming the first defender to score in their first three matches in the competition.
With Lampard aiming to significantly reduce the wage budget, helped by the departures of Fabian Delph, Jonjoe Kenny and Cenk Tosun, moving on Mina will suit all parties.
Hopefully, the club can get some sort of fee for him in January and potentially use this to improve other areas of the team.
