Everton manager David Moyes has had to deal with numerous injuries and absences over the winter period, and a run of one win in six Premier League games has kept the Merseysiders out of European competition.
Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye’s Senegal beat Egypt to return to the Africa Cup of Nations finals, and Jarrad Branthwaite is yet to play a single match this season as he recovers from a thigh problem.
This is just a glimpse of a long and broader list. Everton need reinforcements and depth, even after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Sunderland last weekend.
And with Beto and Thierno Barry flattering to deceive up top, Moyes is determined to bring in a new striker.
Everton looking for new striker this month
Barry, 23, signed from Villarreal for around £27million last summer, is a work in progress, but Beto has struggled for consistency for too long in the Premier League and an upgrade is needed.
Everton must operate within their means this winter, but given Beto, 28, has scored just two goals while missing six big chances, according to Sofascore, it’s a matter of priorities as Barry continues to find his feet.
And according to Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Everton have offered to pay the contract of Fenerbahce striker Youssef En-Nesyri until the end of the season, welcoming the Moroccan international on a first loan deal.
En-Nesyri has a wealth of experience in Europe and is enticed by the opportunity to move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with the Toffees expected to pay a total fee of €24.5m (equivalent to around £21m) to complete the deal.
How En-Nesyri would improve Everton
En-Nesyri, from the start, would provide a more clinical attacking threat at the front of the ship for Everton, having scored 38 goals in 77 appearances following a lengthy spell in Spain with Sevilla, where he won two Europa League titles.
He has only started ten Super Lig matches for Fenerbahce this season, but EN-Nesyri has still scored seven times in that period, testament to his natural prolificacy.
He would have support if he moved to Everton. Should En-Nesyri bite the bullet and move to Merseyside in the coming weeks, he would find a dream attacking teammate in Jack Grealish.
Ndiaye would also offer something, but Grealish’s willingness to serve the goalscorers is entirely relevant; The English superstar is not a greedy player, and he ranks in the top 7% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League this season for shot-creating actions () out of 90, according to data platform FBref.
|
Premier League assist leaders 25/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Applications |
Aids |
|
Bruno Fernandes |
18 |
8 |
|
Rayan Cherki |
16 |
7 |
|
Jack Grealish |
19 |
6 |
|
Mohammed Jerusalem |
19 |
5 |
|
Xhaka Granite |
21 |
5 |
|
Data via Premier League |
||
Grealish accumulates assists, but he constantly gives chances to his teammates. He is fourth in the division for chances created this season, with 38.
En-Nesyri must lick his lips. The Moroccan center forward stands at 6ft 3in and knows how to end the chances he is given. Aerially, he is a force to be reckoned with, further underlining his suitability for Moyes’ aerially dominant side, who have indeed won more aerial duels than any other team in the top flight this season, with 466.
Could there be a better coded offensive profile to succeed in a Moyes system? En-Nesyri is an experienced, title-winning striker with a physique to match his natural striking ability.
He has been hailed as a “pure goalscorer” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, and with a creative force in Grealish playing alongside him, this could finally prove the upgrade the Merseyside side needs at number nine.
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