Three possible defensive replacements for Ramiro Funes Mori at Everton

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Brendan Galloway

Could the answer come from within the club?

Brendan Galloway joined Everton in 2014 from MK Dons where he played out the 2014/15 season as a regular for Everton’s U21 squad. But he did feature for the first team for the final two games of the season, where he played at left-back following Leighton Baines’ exclusion through injury.

After impressing, Galloway started the 2015/16 season as Everton’s left-back – with Baines still missing through injury. He held his place in Martinez’s XI until Baines returned, where the 20-year-old dropped to the bench.

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Following his impressive performances with the first team, Galloway then signed a new deal to 2020.

During the 15 Premier League games Galloway played, he slotted in nicely into the left-back spot, averaging 6 defensive actions per game. He also played his first 90 minutes in a Merseyside Derby where he won 70% of his duels.

Despite injury problems during the second half of last season, he returned to the first team under Koeman, where he played a big part of pre-season. However, he was loaned out to West Brom on a season-long loan in the summer, although a number of defensive backups remained sidelined.

This season, he has played three times for Tony Pulis’ side, where he’s again averaged 6 defensive actions per game and has a pass accuracy of 77% – the second highest of West Brom’s defenders.

Koeman could look to exercise the option of recalling Galloway in January, even if Mori is to stay.