Everton are reportedly interested in signing free agent right-back Krepin Diatta, as new Prime Minister and Blues season ticket holder Andy Burnham has publicly urged the club to strengthen in that position.
In an exclusive interview with Sam Cohen for GiveMeSport, Burnham said: “The signs are good but there is one thing that I would just ask: ‘Sign a right-back.’ We need a right-back. Poor old Jake [O'Brien] can’t do another season at right-back. He’s a good player, he’s a great centre-back. Buy a right-back.”
Interest in Diatta
According to Footmercato, both Everton and newly promoted Ipswich Town are hoping to attract Diatta, who is a free agent after his contract at Monaco expired. Marseille and Schalke are also in the frame. Diatta, an international team-mate of Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye, started all five of Senegal’s World Cup games this summer at right-back, but he is a versatile performer who can fill several positions in wide areas of defence and midfield.
The Blues had been linked with Celtic’s Alistair Johnston, with manager Martin O’Neill revealing on July 31 that Moyes had called him about the Canada World Cup star. However, the Daily Record reports that Everton have cooled their interest in the 27-year-old after failing to meet Celtic’s asking price of upwards of £15million.
Diatta's background and stats
Diatta was born in Dakar on February 25, 1999. He started his career in youth football with Santhiaba Zinguinchor, then moved to Oslo Football Academy Dakar before joining Sarpsborg 08 in 2017. After a season in Norway, he moved to Club Brugge in January 2018, spending three years in Belgium before joining Monaco in January 2021.
Diatta has made 265 appearances in European club football, scoring 36 goals. He has been capped 66 times for Senegal, scoring twice, with his international debut coming in a 2-0 win over Madagascar on March 23, 2019.
Statistical analysis
According to Comparisonator’s player profile, Diatta scores 4.5 out of 10 as a wing back, 4.4 as a two-ways full-back, 4.2 as a playmaker back, and 4.1 as a defensive full-back. His key passes per 90 minutes (0.59) in Ligue 1 last season were higher than Premier League leader Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur (0.58). His successful crosses (1.24) would rank second in the Premier League behind Porro (1.67).
Diatta is also rapid, covering 108m per minute, with only Timothy Castagne of Fulham (116m) and Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace (111m) covering more distance among Premier League right-backs. However, he averaged fewer interceptions (2.47) than any Premier League player in his position, and had fewer pick-ups of loose balls (1.12) than any of his English top flight peers.
Despite his attacking qualities, Diatta’s successful pass rate average of 22.47 would rank 28th in the Premier League. However, when it comes to duels won percentage, only Everton’s James Garner (64%) can top Diatta’s 60%.
Overall, Diatta looks like a player who can do a decent job in certain areas and has considerable experience at the highest level, but there are still some glaring holes in his game. Given that he potentially fills four positions in a squad, similar to Ashley Young at Everton between 2023-25, on a free transfer he is perhaps worth a punt as the second of two right-backs that Moyes arguably needs to recruit.
