IN SEARCH FOR LEIGHTON BAINES’ REPLACEMENT

At every football club, there comes a time when some players would have to either hang their boots and call time on their football career or have to consider moving to another club for the purpose of having an entirely different adventure. For Everton Football Club, a player of such caliber is Leighton Baines; one of the best left-backs in the history of the English Premier League.

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Baines’ reputation as an Everton and a Premier League great is a well-earned and well-deserved one, given how the former defender was always putting in performances that would eventually prove to be vital and essential for his team. Also a former captain of the Everton squad, Baines had every necessary ingredient to becoming a truly colossal leader and player, and he did not fail to prove that anytime he stepped onto the pitch.

The Merseyside club now have a huge task on their hands in their attempt to look for the next Leighton Baines, or an entirely different personality who would have similar traits that would also be regarded as impactful as the former defender’s time at Goodison Park, or even more.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has a couple of defensive stars in his squad, but even he knows that he still has not yet found a player who can be said to have the complete attributes of a natural left-back, just the way Baines had it.

The club currently have the likes of Niels Nkounkou, Ben Godfrey, Ryan Astley, Thierry Small, and Kyle John who can all play in the left-back position in the squad, but the manager is still interested in signing another defender. His hunt for a new left-back has seen him identify Patrick van Anholt, Crystal Palace’s defender, as a potential candidate but the London club are expected to refuse to sell one of their main stars.