RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Future teammates? Tete battles with Carlos Alcaraz | Photo by Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images
Since recently departed club captain Seamus Coleman’s infamous leg break in March 2017, Everton have been on notice that they’d need to plan proactively for the Irishman’s eventual replacement. Nine years on and we’re still waiting. Back then, Coleman was 28 and there was every expectation that he’d be able to make a strong recovery, so finding a long-term successor was not so important. That’s no longer the case.
Seven years ago, former French international Djibril Sidibé embodied the first serious attempt to bring in a new right back, via a loan deal from Monaco, with a purchase option. The 27-year-old showed flashes, but did not entirely convince, so was not retained. Since, the club has drifted, adding only Nathan Patterson, in January 2022. The Scot, in four-and-a-half years, has been dogged with injury and generally not been fancied by multiple managers; he was given only three Premier League starts last term, in seven appearances, amounting to just 240 minutes.
He’s not the answer and will surely – finally – be leaving by the end of the transfer window. The club has offered assurances repeatedly in recent months that a new right back is a priority, but targets in all shapes and sizes, of various levels of ability, have come and gone. Guéla Doué – everyone’s favourite – has always seemed to be out of reach, and is on the verge of moving to Bayer Leverkusen, whilst the experienced Daniel Muñoz is poised to join Nottingham Forest, to reunite with his former Crystal Palace manager, Oliver Glasner. Celtic were demanding too high a fee for Alistair Johnston, even before the Canadian’s injury scuppered any possible deal. Other names have hardly inspired.
So, how about Kenny Tete? The Fulham man was out of contract last summmer and had reportedly verbally agreed personal terms to join Everton on a free transfer, prior to signing a new two-year deal with the West London club. What would the now 30-year-old add to the Toffees?
A Graduate of “The Future”
The Amsterdam-born Tete joined the famed Ajax academy, nicknamed “De Toekomst”, or “The Future” in English, at age 10. Already nailed-down as a right back by his mid-teens, the youngster progressed gradually through the club’s youth system, eventually making his professional debut for the reserve team – Jong Ajax – in the Dutch second tier. He broke into the senior setup late in the following season and thereafter became a regular, earning the first of his 14 senior caps for the Netherlands in August 2025.
Tete amassed 31 appearances for Ajax during the 2015/16 campaign, but suffered his first major setback — torn ankle ligaments sustained in a match against Vitesse Arnhem in January, which kept him sidelined for three months. This derailed his progress and saw him lose out to Joël Veltman in the next season, being limited to just five starts in the Eredivisie. He saw more action in the Europa League, but was an unused substitute as Ajax succumbed 2-0 to Manchester United in the final.
A French Adventure
His path at Ajax blocked by Veltman, Tete made the move to France in the summer of 2017, signing for Olympique Lyonnais for a fee of €4m. The change bore quick results for the then 21-year-old, who made a positive impression in his first campaign, only to again find himself fighting a generally losing battle, this time with new signing Léo Dubois, during his remaining two years in Ligue 1. It was time for a fresh start and with Lyon accepting a bid of €3.2m from Fulham in September 2020, he was off to West London.
Home at the Cottage
After failing to command a starting place at both Ajax and Lyon, the 24-year-old made the worst possible start at his new home, almost immediately succumbing to a calf injury which kept him out until January. By then, Fulham were deeply mired in a relegation fight, and although Tete did his best, the team’s form collapsed late in the campaign and they fell into the Championship. An injury-disrupted season in the second tier followed, but so did a swift return to the top flight under former Everton boss Marco Silva.
In the Cottagers’ first year back in the top flight, Tete enjoyed perhaps his best campaign to date, managing career highs in both league appearances (31) and starts (29), in helping the team to an impressive tenth-place finish. The 2023-24 season was a frustrating one however, in which the Dutchman struggled with fitness issues, only making the league lineup 14 times, with just ten starts. In 2024-25, the right back started and ended the campaign well, but missed a big chunk in the middle – four months – with a knee injury.
Last term followed a familiar pattern, with Tete managing less than 1,900 total minutes, playing 22 league games, and starting 21, but spending periods on the sidelines with three seperate injuries. He played competently when available, though didn’t appear in any of Fulham’s last eight league matches, after picking up a foot problem in March. The former Netherlands international ended up scoring one goal, providing no assists. He was on the bench for the team’s campaign opener this season, but played the full 90 in their midweek 3-0 EFL Cup win over AFC Wimbledon, providing an assist, so is match fit.
Analysis
The 30-year-old is an experienced player, with a lot of games under his belt, including six seasons in England and five in the Premier League, so his strengths and weaknesses are well-established. Overall, he’s defensively excellent: combative, quick and very tough to beat one-on-one: winning 60.5 of his tackles against dribbling opponents. In 2024-25, he averaged 4.47 combined tackles and interceptions, and made 1.57 blocks per 90 minutes — all team highs for Fulham (for those playing over 600 league minutes). Standing 5’11, he’s solid defending the back post, winning 54.2% of his aerial duels.
On the ground, he’s competitive, with a 55.2% success rate...
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