Everton’s perfect Idrissa Gueye successor: The £17m ex-Man Utd star David Moyes can sign - opinion

Everton are expected to lose two enforcers in the middle of the park this summer with Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure both departing on free transfers on 1 July.

It leaves a massive hole in Everton’s midfield heading into the campaign and although Charly Alcaraz’s loan move has been made permanent following a successful loan spell from Fluminense, there is still a feeling that the Toffees lack a bit of grit and steel in the middle of the park which has served them well in recent seasons.

Gueye, 35, who looks destined to leave Everton for a second time, recorded the most tackles in the Premier League with 133 last term and was notably voted as both Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season after a standout 2024/25 campaign.

He has over 100 caps for Senegal and epitomised many of the qualities that Everton boss David Moyes looks for in a midfielder both in terms of leadership and energy levels on the pitch.

Meanwhile, Doucoure was more of a box-to-box player with equally important qualities such as his ability to patrol the midfield while also breaking into the box to score important goals, with perhaps his biggest coming against Bournemouth in a 1-0 victory on the final day of the 2022/23 season.

In an ideal world, both players would have been retained by Everton but Moyes is renowned for his shrewd ability in the transfer window and may well have found the perfect player to fill that void in the middle of the park, particularly when it comes to replacing Gueye.

Everton plot move to sign Fred this summer

According to a report earlier this week from Turkish outlet Fanatik, Everton have emerged as one of the leading contenders to sign former Manchester United midfielder Fred from Fenerbahce this summer.

The Toffees have reportedly identified the Fenerbahce star as a potential reinforcement in central midfield and have opened discussions with Fenerbahce over a possible deal for the 32-time Brazil international.

Fred is reportedly keen on returning to England this summer although his manager Jose Mourinho is believed to still value him highly heading into this season’s title race.

Fenerbache finished second last year and are hoping to build a team which can win the Super League for the first time since 2014. They are reportedly set to ask for £17m to let the midfielder go this summer, although it’s suspected that Everton will open the bidding at around £12m.

Why Fred could be the perfect Idrissa Gueye replacement

Fred has over 12 years of experience in European football where he has consistently shown durability and the skillset to dominate a midfield from a defensive perspective.

He joined Shakhtar Donetsk from Internacional, where he had twice won the Brazilian league, and formed part of Shakhtar team which won 10 trophies in a five-year period, including three Ukrainian titles, twice reaching the round-of-16 of the Champions League and even the semi-final of the Europa League.

Fred joined Manchester United for £47m in the summer of 2018, becoming one of the final signings of the Jose Mourinho era at Old Trafford. He was described by South American football expert Tim Vickery at the time as a ‘mini Fernandinho’ and although he achieved nowhere near the heights of the Brazilian international, he became an important part of the team at Old Trafford while perhaps unfairly being scapegoated by some supporters.

The 32-year-old made a combined total of 213 appearances for United, scoring 14 goals and contributing 19 assists while being a stalwart in the team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and later Erik ten Hag.

He formed a partnership with Scott McTominay which at the time was nicknamed ‘McFred’, finishing in the top three positions for three of the five seasons they were there while winning the League Cup in 2023.

“When you have a Fred, Scott [McTominay], Nemanja [Matic] – you have players who you know they’re going to give you seven, eight out of ten every time. They’re going to give you everything. That’s the best feeling [as a manager],” said former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Fred showed versatility throughout his time at United - playing as a defensive midfielder in his earlier years before transitioning into a more creative player at times in his final season.

The Brazilian in 2022/23 notably had similar statistics to what Gueye managed in his final season at Goodison Park. He made an average of 4.75 tackles and interceptions a game compared to Gueye’s 5.32, averaged 9.14 ball recoveries as opposed to the Everton man’s 5.71 and made 5.47 progressive passes which is marginally more than Gueye’s 4.26 on average per game, as shown by Fbref.

Fred’s since gone on to become a regular at Fenerbahce, making 80 appearances, scoring eight times and contributing 16 assists.

Overall, while he may not quite have been the title-winning midfielder the Red Devils were looking for at the time, he’s a player with the qualities to thrive at a top half Premier League team and provide grit and steel in the midfield which is exactly what Everton will need to try and continue their accent up the league table.

While the price tag of £17m is a bit steep for a 32-year-old, it has the potential to still be a shrewd piece of business given what Fred can offer the Blues over the next few seasons.

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