Everton 'target' free agent defender who was released by last season's Premier League relegation rivals

Everton may be able to recruit a former Premier League defender for free this summer as they eye up Sheffield United defender Max Lowe.

Finances are tight at Goodison Park and after signing three players via loans and free transfers last summer, they could well do the same again this time around. Lowe is out of contract at the end of June and he could well be a cheap option to help pad out their defensive depth, according to Football Insider.

Vitalyi Mykolenko has been the out-and-out number one left-back at the back for some time now and he impressed last season as Everton racked up the fourth-best defensive record. However, he is the only natural left-back at the club and we saw both Ben Godfrey and Ashley Young fill in on that side across the season at different points.

Lowe, 27, played just 10 games in the league last season, managing one assist and he has played for Derby, Aberdeen and Nottingham Forest across his career to date. Providing a back-up option for Mykolenko, it would help maintain a defence with a natural line-up, rather than having to shoehorn in Godfrey or Young to play out of position. While he didn’t feature much across last season, he played 32 times as they achieved promotion in the 2022/23 campaign, managing seven assists in all competitions and he would definitely bring an added threat going forward which isn’t Mykolenko’s strong point.

Despite not featuring much last season, his figures over the past 365 days tell a different story. He ranks in the 99th percentile for tackles, the 93rd for non-penalty xG, the 91st for blocks and the 72nd for clearances. A lot of his defensive figures are also impressive such as blocks, shots blocked, tackles and interceptions combined per90 and so on.

Under Dyche, he could be moulded into a useful squad player and given he would be a free signing, it would be a low-risk investment given his lower wages. It would help to rotate Mykolenko out at regular intervals to ensure he remains fresh and give them an added dimension if they need to pile the pressure on to find a goal for example.