Possible £13.5m Everton deal for Zeki Celik should be no-brainer [Opinion]

With Everton offered the opportunity to sign Lille’s right-back Mehmet Zeki Celik for just £13.5 million, the Turkish international would represent a no-brainer of an acquisition for Marcel Brands.

Although the report claims that Everton will have to battle AS Roma for Celik, French source Le10Sport has claimed that £13.5 million is Lille’s price tag for their defender.

Valued at £18 million by Transfermarkt, Celik’s price tag could represent a shrewd bargain.

The 23-year-old was reportedly a summer target for the likes of Tottenham Hotspur before they signed Matt Doherty from Wolves, with Everton themselves in need of a new right-back.

Typically used as a centre-back, Mason Holgate has frequently deputised as a right-back this season in the absence of club captain Seamus Coleman, who himself made his return in a 1-0 defeat to West Ham.

At some point in the future, 32-year-old Coleman will be retiring – leaving an inevitable void in Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton squad.

At nine years Coleman’s junior, Celik represents a formidable option with significant potential to improve under the tutelage of Ancelotti and any possible successors.

Italian transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano claimed that Everton had been in touch with the player’s entourage ‘weeks ago’ amid competition for his signature from Roma, meaning that Everton have likely tracked the Turk for some time.

And with academy product Jonjoe Kenny struggling to break into the Everton side, the right-back spot looks to be increasingly problematic going forward.

An experienced full Turkish international, Celik is a regular for club and country.

He has made 83 outings for Lille and has achieved 18 caps for his country.

Evidently, there is plenty he could add to Everton’s depth – and at the reported price, an opportunity this good may not come again.