The bargain £8m defender Everton could snatch from Wolves to make their back line rock solid

Everton’s defence may not feel like their biggest concern on paper – three games without a goal points to the biggest issue Sean Dyche has in his squad – but that hasn’t stopped them from being one of two clubs linked with a move for a high-class defender from the Bundesliga, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi.

Intriguingly, the other side reported to be in the market for the Swiss international’s services is Wolverhampton Wanderers – who beat Everton on Saturday and who, like the Toffees, look a lot like very serious contenders for the drop this season. If Elvedi signs for either side and impresses, then the disappointed party could well feel very foolish for failing to make the deal stick, and there is plenty of cause to believe that Elvedi would be very handy indeed in the Premier League.

A 47-cap international who made his debut for his country at the age of just 17, the now 26-year-old defender has been a regular first-teamer for Mönchengladbach for the past eight years and has earned a justified reputation as one of the most formidable centre-backs in Germany. There’s little doubt that he would represent an upgrade for Everton or Wolves.

He’s extremely strong in the air and a threat at set pieces, scoring 15 goals for the Foals in all competitions, but is far more than an old-school six-foot-something mass of neck muscle. He’s also an excellent tackler with superb judgement, seldom collecting cards – despite his being far from afraid of making a tackle, he averages one booking every 14 games over the past three seasons, and has been sent off just once in that time. He also has a better success rate with his tackles than any current player on either side.

Another area he beats out every defender that plies their trade at Goodison Park or the Molineux is his passing. His 91.2% success rate is better than any centre-half at either club as it stands, and his range is broader too. That shouldn’t be taken to mean that he’s a full-blown ball-playing defender - while he’s comfortable carrying the ball, he’s hardly Stanley Matthews – but he is a technically sound player who knows how to do the last-ditch stuff, rarely loses an aerial challenge and seldom gives it away once it’s won.

And while Everton’s serious issues up front are the most glaring problem facing Sean Dyche, the concession of six goals in three games should hint that the back line isn’t the best either, which was an issue last season even after the former Burnley manager took charge. Elvedi should certainly be an upgrade on Michael Keane, especially as a passer, has a better all-round game than James Tarkowski and is far more experienced than Jarrad Branthwaite, who has no shortage of raw talent but still has the odd baffling mistake in his boots. Elvedi can also fill in at right-back, which could be helpful given the inexperience of Nathan Patterson and what might be termed the excess of experience of Séamus Coleman.

So if the transfer budget stretches to a defender after they’ve sorted out the attack – and a deal for Udinese’s Beto seems to be moving closer, which would be a solid start – then Elvedi would certainly be a good purchase for the Toffees, and crucially would deny Wolves a potentially important player.

Wolves’ own problems are more pronounced up front too, of course, but Elvedi would surely be an upgrade on Craig Dawson, who is a very solid but somewhat limited centre-back. Elvedi has a strong passing game, something Dawson decidedly lacks, and that should help to shore up the strengths of Gary O’Neil’s side, which seem to lie in midfield on the evidence of the first three games. Adding some extra threat from set pieces is nothing to sneer at when goals from open play are at a premium as well.

The rumour mill suggests that Elvedi, who is entering the last year of his contract at Mönchengladbach and has turned down the offer of an extension, would be available for around £8m, a snip by current market standards and about as good of a deal as two clubs who are in the process of penny-pinching could possibly ask for. Whoever gets Elvedi will likely have an edge in what could be a tense relegation battle, with several teams apparently engaged in a race to the bottom, very much including Everton and Wolves. Survival could hang by the finest of threads this season, and a genuine upgrade to the backline could make the difference.

So Everton should be motivated to make this deal work, not just for purposes of self-improvement but to deny that opportunity to a relegation rival. Having just lost to Wolves at Goodison Park this weekend, the Toffees need every edge they can get, and few come as cheap as Elvedi in this day and age. Is he Everton’s most pressing need? No. But there’s room for improvement in every department and this may be too good of a deal to pass up.