Villa to rival Everton for Nzonzi this month

Aston Villa are trying to sign midfielder Steven Nzonzi this month, according to Mirror Sport, with the Frenchman having also been named as an option for Everton.

The 31-year old is currently on loan with Galatasaray from Roma, although he has been indefinitely suspended by the Super Lig side recently, following Galatasaray’s tweet about the situation where they cited a training ground incident, as reported by Mail Online.

Tuttomercatoweb reported of Everton’s interest in December, with the Toffees in desperate need of midfield reinforcements in January, following Andre Gomes and JP Gbamin still being out injured and with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s future uncertain.

Aston Villa have experienced midfielder problems of their own this season, with the club being forced into signing Danny Drinkwater on loan from Chelsea earlier this month. Now though, Mirror Sport claim that Villa’s interest in the former Blackburn and Stoke man is heating up.

Mirror Sport also claim that the World Cup winning midfielder would be open to returning to English football.

Read Everton Verdict

Everton should absolutely look to close a deal to sign Nzonzi if the club truly are interested in the Frenchman.

Nzonzi is often calm and composed on the ball, he demonstrates great mobility and passing accuracy and range, and he would certainly help the Toffees dictate the tempo in midfielder much easier, making him someone who could immediately help the club and challenge for a starting role.

Despite playing just ten times in the Super Lig this season, the former Stoke man has posted an average match rating of 6.95 (via WhoScored), while his passing success sits at 90.1 per cent. Compared to both Fabian Delph and Morgan Schneiderlin, who have played 12 and 11 Premier League games respectively, Delph has a rating of 6.54 with an 86 per cent passing success record, while Schneiderlin is only rated 6.26, while his passing success is recorded at 86.8 per cent.

This goes to show that Nzonzi would be the kind of player who could come straight into Carlo Ancelotti’s line-up, and having played in the Premier League for six years in the past, he has enough experience and know-how to settle in immediately.