Goodison View: Reported transfer swoop for Belgium international could be great for Everton
There’s no denying the fact that this Everton squad needs a little extra infusion of quality, both in this transfer window and in the ones to follow.
That was made abundantly clear by the Toffees’ first team’s failure to beat Liverpool’s kids in the FA Cup on Sunday.
New manager Carlo Ancelotti now knows that successful recruitment will be vital to fulfilling the club’s – and his own – ambitions, because the current squad simply isn’t good enough.
To that end, it appears that someone the Italian is keeping an eye on is Belgium international Yannick Ferreira Carrasco.
Arena Napoli reported last week that the former Atletico Madrid man wants to return to Europe from China, where he has been a Dalian Yifang player since early 2018.
Ancelotti’s team are thought to be one those in the hunt for the 26-year-old forward, although Napoli are said to be the favourite at this moment in time, with £12million-17million thought to be the price tag required.
However, if the Blues can pull this one off it would represent a real coup. Don’t let his time in China fool you; Carrasco is a top class talent.
He scored 17 goals in 26 games for his club last season and, while that was against inferior opposition, it’s still a fantastic tally for someone who isn’t an orthodox striker. Plus, we’ve seen plenty of other big-name players go to China and flop.
He also directly contributed – in terms of goals and assists – to 40 goals in 124 games for Atletico and 44 in 103 games for Monaco, so he is very much proven in European football.
The likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Theo Walcott, Moise Kean (so far, at least), Oumar Niasse, Alex Iwobi and Cenk Tosun have failed to provide the goods in attack for the Toffees. Carrasco is surely a better bet than them, no?
In other Everton news, a former Premier League striker has ripped into one player for his performance against Liverpool.