Right-back remains a problem position for Everton so could Brazilian prospect Wesley Franca of Flamengo be the long-term solution for the Blues? Ashley Young has arguably been one of Everton’s most consistent performers in a desperately disappointing first half of the season turning out in that area of the pitch but the club’s oldest ever outfield player and scorer turns 40 on July 9.

At 36, club captain Seamus Coleman is no spring chicken either and despite having made an Everton record 367 appearances in the Premier League and being just seven games away from matching the all competitions total of 433 shared by Dixie Dean and Leon Osman for a place in the all-time top 10, the Republic of Ireland international has only featured three times in top flight fixtures so far this term as injuries continue to bite.

Having joined for £11million plus add ons from Rangers in January 2022, Nathan Patterson was earmarked to become Coleman’s long term successor but the Scotland international has only featured in 43 Premier League games during his three years on Merseyside and even when he has been fit during an injury-hit spell, has been used sparingly by Sean Dyche.

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Sport Witness cites Brazilian outlet O Dia as reporting that Everton have joined the chase for Wesley with Blues chiefs intending to match AC Milan’s €20million offer. The outlet claims that Aston Villa have already had a €15million bid rejected but Flamengo have set an asking price of €30million as they want to retain his services until after the FIFA Club World Cup taking place in the USA this summer.

Wesley, born on September 6, 2003, is almost two years Patterson’s junior and while he hails from Acailandia in Maranhao state in Brazil’s far north, he started his career at the opposite end of the country with Serie D outfit Atletico Tubarao in Santa Catarina state in the deep south, almost 2,000 miles from his birthplace. After joining Flamengo in 2021, Wesley has gone on to make 113 appearances, scoring two goals, and has been a regular over the past two seasons, including playing in both legs of their Copa do Brasil final win over Atletico Mineiro in November.

When it comes to current Premier League players, Diogo Dalot of Manchester United is calculated as being closest to Wesley in style with Comparisonator’s Similarity tool given a 96% match while against Everton’s right-back Young he is a 79% match. Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool also enables us to correlate Wesley’s statistics from Brazil over the past season against those already turning out in the Premier League in his position.

The 21-year-old is a tenacious competitor in one-on-one battles, winning 11.32 duels per 90 minutes, which is more than Premier League leader Kyle Walker-Peters of Southampton on 11 followed by Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace on 10.74 and then Kenny Tete of Fulham on 10.57. He would also offer the Blues are more expansive approach in that area of the pitch as only Walker-Peters (4.09) averages more than his 2.65 dribbles and when it comes to successful dribbles, he would be third on 1.58, behind Walker-Peters (2.55) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka of West Ham United (1.59).

Wesley is well capable of an overlap, with just Walker-Peters (1.45) topping his 0.87 successful dribbles in the final third per 90 minutes while his average of 2.23 progressive runs is only topped by Walker-Peters (4.18) and Wan-Bissaka (3.29). There is end product too with the Flamengo man’s average of 2.87 crosses behind just Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur (4.55) and Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool (3.72) and he’d rank fifth for successful crosses on 1.06 in a category also topped by Porro on 1.65.

While being able to get forward is a prerequisite of a successful modern full-back at the highest level, Wesley is no slouch at defender either. His 64% score for successful defensive actions would put him joint second in the Premier League, just behind leader Noussair Mazraoui of Manchester United on 65% and with 2.16 clearances per 90 minutes, he’d also make the top 10 in a section topped by Wan-Bissaka on 2.76.

Everton have been looking to start utilising the South American market for a while now but have yet to take the plunge. Recent recruits from that continent, Richarlison, Yerry Mina, Bernard, Allan, James Rodriguez and Salomon Rondon all had previous experience in European football first but identifying emerging talent early on, like Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion have done on several occasions, can be a prudent policy, even if the quoted fee here appears somewhat hefty.

*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.