Everton are close to completing their third summer signing after finding a breakthrough in talks for Sporting CP’s Youssef Chermiti.
According to ZeroZero, the Toffees will splash out €15 million to sign the 19-year-old striker to increase Sean Dyche’s firepower after an underwhelming season.
Sporting will receive an additional 10% from the future sale of a talented youngster who only has one incomplete top-flight season under his belt.
However, desperate times require desperate measures.
Everton weathered a nerve-shredding relegation drama in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, securing salvation on the final weekend courtesy of a 1-0 home win over Bournemouth.
But a lack of firepower was a burning issue for the Merseyside outfit as they only managed a league second-low 34 goals, highlighting the significance of acquiring a new centre-forward.
Neal Maupay and Dominic Calvert-Lewin failed to quench the goalscoring thirst at Goodison Park last term, with the former’s future at Everton still hanging by a thread.
After netting just twice in his last 40 competitive outings, the former Brighton & Hove Albion goal-getter could be counting his final days at Everton.
Dyche’s first move to address his team’s scoring woes was the loan signing of Villarreal’s Arnaut Danjuma a week ago.
Before the forward’s arrival, Ashley Young moved to Goodison as a free agent after severing ties with Aston Villa.
The Dutchman’s indifferent six-month loan at Tottenham Hotspur last season cannot inspire much confidence, which is why the Toffees are still in the market for additional attacking reinforcement.
Chermiti could be a decent prospect for the future based on his decent-looking breakout campaign at Sporting, although it’s hard to imagine him as an immediate solution for Everton’s problems.
The Portuguese prodigy made only nine Primeira Liga starts in 2022/23, adding seven more appearances as a substitute.
He scored just three times across those 16 matches, so it would be too optimistic from Everton to expect him to thrive in the Premier League from the outset.
