Everton finally linked with a decent left-back

Everton are currently averaging one new signing a week in the January transfer window as Sam Allardyce looks to correct some of the mistakes made in the summer.

The signing of Cenk Tosun will hopefully fill the Romleu Lukaku-shaped hole in the starting XI, while Theo Walcott adds some much needed to our pedestrian forward line.

So far, so good.

But while those signings are great, neither of them can play LEFT-BACK!

The failure to sign adequate back-up to Leighton Baines last summer always looked like a huge gamble. Baines has been a fine servant to this club over the past decade, but at 33 his best days are behind him.

His defending is still fine, but he no longer has the legs to make those lung-busting runs forward that made him such an attacking threat.

Then there is the the spectre of injuries that haunts every ageing player.

So when Baines pulled up against Southampton in November, later revealing he heard something “pop”, we all knew that wasn’t good news.

Two months on and Baines has yet to return, with the club worryingly reluctant to even put a timescale on his recovery.

That has meant we are in the farcical situation of playing our third-choice right-back at left-back for a significant chunk of the season.

Cuco Martina has struggled to convince as a right-back this season so he was always going to be up against it on the left.

Unsurprisingly, opposition sides have begun to target that area of the field, as Tottenham demonstrated so ruthlessly last weekend.

Therefore the report in the Liverpool Echo tenuously linking Everton with a left-back has got Toffees fans everywhere very excited.

The player in question is Bayern Munich’s Juan Bernat. The 24-year-old Spaniard began his career at Valencia before moving to Bayern in 2014.

Bernat has gone on to make more than 100 appearances for the German club and earn full international honours with Spain.

However, the defender has struggled for first-team action this season, making just two appearances.

With David Alaba Bayern’s first-choice left-back, it’s unlikely Bernat will be a regular any time soon, therefore he may be open to a move.

Bayern may also be willing to sell given he has barely featured for them this year. And with just 18 months remaining on his contract, Bernat is likely to be available for a reasonable fee.

It all makes sense.

I have to be honest and say I don’t know much about Bernat. But given what we have had to put up with this season, the fact he has a working left foot is good enough for me.

Sign him up, Sam!