Everton’s busy summer recruitment drive continued with the signing of former Southampton defender Cuco Martina on a free transfer.
The 27-year-old penned a three-year contract with the Toffees and looks set to compete with Mason Holgate and Jonjoe Kenny for the starting spot at right-back in the absence of the injured Seamus Coleman.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Everton manager Ronald Koeman expressed his delight at being able to bring in the versatile defender:
“Cuco Martina is an experienced player who can perform in different positions at the back, which is important. It’s also important, with the number of games we will face in the coming campaign, that we have strength and competition in the squad. I brought the player to Southampton, so I know what he can do for us here and this is why I’ve now brought him to Everton. He is a player who will strengthen our squad and be able to play in different positions when that’s needed, too.”
The History
After spending his youth career at Dutch side Feyenoord, Martina’s first experience of senior football came at lower league side RBC Roosendaal, where he spent three seasons.
Martina then moved to Eredivisie outfit RKC Waalwijk and made 43 appearances between 2011 and 2013 before joining FC Twente in the summer of 2013.
He featured 48 times over the next two seasons, registering one goal and one assist, playing both at centre-back and right-back, before moving to Southampton in July 2015.
Martina played 15 league matches for Saints in 2015/16, producing one goal and one assist, but his first-team opportunities were limited under Claude Puel last season, making just nine league appearances.
The defender plays his international football for Curaçao and has racked up 32 caps since making his debut back in August 2011.
The Prospects
The serious knee injury suffered by Coleman meant that Everton were always likely to be in the market for an experienced right-back this summer and Martina now looks set to push hard for a place in Koeman’s starting XI.
The 27-year-old stands at six foot one, is reasonably comfortable on the ball and also boasts decent athleticism.
While his statistics suggest he’s not a huge attacking threat, his wonder goal against Arsenal shows he does possess some technical ability and is perhaps more comfortable at getting forward from right-back than Holgate, who is naturally a centre-back.
Holgate took over from Coleman for the final nine matches last season, while Kenny only featured once last term and is expected to be behind both players in the pecking order.
Although both Martina and Holgate offer little goal threat, having averaged a shot every 591 and 228.83 minutes respectively last season, they provide a cheaper route into the Toffees’ backline – both have been valued at 4.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Michael Keane and Ashley Williams, who are expected to form the centre-back partnership, both come in at 5.5, while left-back Leighton Baines is priced at 6.0.
There could be a small chance Koeman looks to experiment with a three-man defence though, as he did at times last season, which could see the likes of Tom Davies or James McCarthy, or even a more attacking player, fill in at right wing-back.
In goal, Jordan Pickford is available at 5.0, but with so many 4.5 options to choose from, and given Everton’s daunting opening schedule (STO, mci, che, TOT, mun), he could well be ignored by many Fantasy managers when drawing up their Gameweek 1 squads.
But in a team which is pushing to break into the top six, the prospect of a starting defender at 4.5 will certainly be of interest when the fixture list turns favourably from Gameweek 6 onwards.
We perhaps shouldn’t bank on any assists from either player, though, with Martina only registering a key pass every 118.2 minutes last term, slightly better than Holgate (152.55).
Given the lack of attacking potential and the likelihood of clean sheets being at a premium over the opening five Gameweeks, the first month of the season will be more useful to see which player establishes themselves as first choice.
The additions of Pickford and Keane should improve an Everton defence that managed to keep 13 clean sheets last season, so with Coleman not expected to return until 2018, the starting right-back could provide FPL bosses with a great value option.
If that happens to be Martina, expect him to be a popular Fantasy asset once that tough start is out of the way.
