Sekou Koita, a free agent who spent last season playing for Red Bull Salzburg, has been linked to Everton.
Sekou Koita has been connected to a possible transfer to Everton, but what advantages could he provide the Blues?
According to Africafoot, which Sport Witness reports, Koita is on his way to Everton. A person close to the player has informed the team that Goodison Park officials have granted all of the player’s requests. The report also states that Koita’s trade to the Blues is “nearly complete,” with the two sides “just waiting” to finalise a few details.
The 24-year-old Koita is a flexible player who can operate as a striker or an attacker off the front line.ng midfielder’s contract with Red Bull Salzburg expired, leaving him a free agent at this time. Despite his overall goal total with the team being 43 goals in 106 games plus 21 assists, he struggled with injuries and experienced adductor pain and thigh troubles in 2023–2024 despite scoring seven goals in 19 games in the Austrian Bundesliga last season.
Similar to Abdoulaye Doucoure of Everton, who plays in a comparable position on the pitch, Koita has played for Mali internationally, earning 27 caps and four goals for the west African nation. Playing youth football for USC Kita, the club in his hometown, he began his career in Europe with Liefering, an Austrian second-tier team that serves as Red Bull’s reserve, then went on loan to Wolfsberger in 2018–19.
On February 18 2021, Koita, along with Mohamed Camara, his team-mate for both club and country, was suspended for three months of all club and international football activities by UEFA, following a doping investigation in which he tested positive. The pair were prescribed medicine to combat altitude sickness that contained a substance on the banned list.
Although UEFA found that there was no deliberate breach of the doping regulations in this instance, the regulations provide that each player bears personal responsibility for making sure that no prohibited drugs enter their body.
We may compare Koita’s statistics from the previous season against those of players currently occupying his position in the Premier League using Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool, and the results are compelling to read. Koita is ranked third in the English premier league by the A.I. Offensive Index, behind Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha (316) and Cole Palmer (335) of Chelsea.
Koita’s 1.09 goals per ninety minutes is more than the Premier League leader in his position, Palamer, who plays in a lower tier. Along with having more shots (4.15) than Palmer (2.71), playing in scoring attacks (1.75) than Palmer (1.6), opportunities converted (1.09) than Cunha (0.61), and successful offensive actions (74%) than Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez (72%), he would also lead the league in all of these categories.
Koita would rank third in terms of expected goals (xG) at 0.42, behind Palmer (0.58) and Cunha (0.43); fourth in terms of shots on target (1.53), behind Cunha (1.64); fifth in terms of successful dribbles (2.4), behind Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace (3.2); and eighth in terms of assists (0.22), behind Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest who leads the category at 0.39. Sean Dyche’s motto is “the minimum requirement is maximum effort,” so it could cheer him up to see Koita score well in his off-the-ball endeavours as well.
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