Patrice Evra as possible Faouzi Ghoulam replacement?

by Graeme Jackson

Monday Nov 13, 2017. 15:00

French left-back Patrice Evra is being touted as a possible stand-in for Napoli’s injured Algerian star Faouzi Ghoulam.

The Fennec Foxes defender sustained a season-ending knee injury in Napoli’s last UEFA Champions League match.

This has put the Italian side on red alert for available left-backs and Evra could well fit the bill.

The veteran recently terminated his contract with Olympique Marseille to become a free agent.

However, a lengthy ban from UEFA club competition means he wouldn’t be available for Champions League matches.

Evra received the sanction in the wake of an incident in the warm-up for Marseille’s Europa League game with Vitoria Guimaraes, in which he kicked a fan during an altercation.

“He knows that he made a mistake, but his career doesn’t end here,” agent Federico Pastorello told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He doesn’t want to hang up his boots in this way. Physically, he is stronger than five or six years ago and many clubs have already contacted us.”

Pastorello added, “Patrice doesn’t see himself in Serie A again after his years with Juventus. We won’t rule anything out, not even Napoli, but I think it would be complicated.”