Everton have been heavily linked with Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Daichi Kamada recently and the Japan international could be Frank Lampard’s own version of Arsenal star Martin Odegaard.
According to Forbes, the 26-year-old is considering his future with the Bundesliga side and the Toffees are one of several Premier League sides to have shown an interest in bringing him in on a free transfer.
As Kamada’s contract at the Deutsche Bank Park is set to expire at the end of the season, foreign sides will be able to approach him on a Bosman deal from next month, and considering his impressive performances in recent seasons, he could prove to be a bargain addition at Goodison Park.
Since signing from Sagan Tosu, the versatile midfielder has featured on 154 occasions, contributing 34 goals and 30 assists, which has included 12 goals and four assists in a hugely impressive start to the 2022/23 campaign.
Only Randal Kolo Muani is rated higher in Frankfurt’s squad so far in the Bundesliga this season, with WhoScored awarding him a superb 7.15 average rating for his performances in Germany’s top flight.
This would comfortably rank him as the top player in Everton’s squad this campaign, which emphasises the immense quality that he could add at Goodison Park.
Should he be tempted to swap Champions League football with Frankfurt for a potential relegation battle with Everton in January, then he could potentially emulate Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who has been one of the star performers for Mikel Arteta’s side this season as they sit top of the Premier League.
The Norway international has six goals and two assists in 13 appearances, with his superb 7.38 average rating from WhoScored ranking him as the second-best player for the Gunners this season – of those to make at least five starts.
According to FBRef, Odegaard is the third most similar player to Kamada when compared to other midfielders across Europe’s top leagues.
The two players have registered extremely similar numbers with regard to expected goals and assists per 90 (0.59 vs 0.56), and final third passes (47 vs 43), suggesting they are cut from the same cloth in an attacking regard.
Furthermore, they have made almost an identical number of ball recoveries (64 vs 65) with their respective metrics proving that both players love to get forward and contribute in attack, but they are also hard-working and can be relied upon to track back.
Considering how similar they are, and how “brilliant” – in the words of Adi Hutter – Kamada has been for both club and country this season, Lampard should definitely look to bring the World Cup star to Goodison Park.