Everton interested in £30million Watford striker Ismaila Sarr involved in recent controversy
Everton are interested in signing Watford striker Ismaila Sarr but will face competition from Germany and the Premier League, Jeunes Footeux reports.
The Hornets have been relegated to the Championship, again which reportedly means the Senegalese international has “a good chance of leaving” in the summer window.
The 24-year-old scored five top flight goals this season for the team that finished second from bottom, but missed significant chunks through injury.
He has only scored a total of 10 times for Watford in 50 Premier League appearances, but scored in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final and assisted another in the semis during his country’s victorious campaign.
According to Jeunes Footeux, he will not be sold for less than €35million, and is also drawing interest from an unnamed German side, as well as Newcastle and Crystal Palace, with Eagles boss Patrick Vieira a particular fan.
The former Rennes forward was involved in recent controversy when he posted his support in a now deleted Instagram post for Paris Saint Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye’s boycott of a Ligue 1 match, where shirts featured rainbow colours for International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (Times).
Watford subsequently issued a statement re-iterating their “longterm commitment to EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] values” and offering “education” to their employees (Watford Observer).
High price
Sarr is an experienced Premier League forward with age on his side, but his output hasn’t set the division on fire during two campaigns either side of a year in the second-tier.
In his defence, he was playing in a side that was relegated at the end of both of those seasons, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin matched his goal tally this year in five fewer games during what was a notably disastrous season for him.
Richarlison was also going through a poor year before his late-season flourish, yet doubled Sarr’s number with 10.
Considering the Toffees’ history of overspending on decent but unspectacular signings, at the quoted price it feels like this one would fall squarely in that category.
Farhad Moshiri needs to move away from those mistakes as a matter of priority anyway, but with the current financial constraints he simply can’t take that size of risk.
If either of the aforementioned Everton stars are sold for big money it could require a replacement to be brought in, but blowing a big sum on a player who might be seen as a downgrade would surely be unpopular.
Add in the involvement in the rainbow shirts controversy and it seems like a transfer that just doesn’t make sense for the club right now.
In other Everton news, the two star forwards top the list of players in line to leave this summer to ease the financial worries.
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