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Everton must move now to sign £6.8m-rated Alassane Plea
Pressure is mounting on Everton to bring in a new striker this summer with Dominic Calvert-Lewin now injured for up to six weeks.
Unless a player is signed before midday on Friday (5 August) when the registration deadline strikes for the opening weekend of the season, Frank Lampard may have to play Dele Alli up front at home to Chelsea on Saturday (6 August).
One player the Toffees have been linked with is Borussia Monchengladbach attacker Alassane Plea [L’Equipe] who found his best form towards the end of the 2021-22 season.
The 29-year-old has scored double figures in goals in each of his last six seasons at Gladbach and with OGC Nice before then and he now is the target of a move from the Ligue 1 side.
According to Le10 Sport, though, Plea is not seeking a Premier League payday and wants to return to the South Coast of France but that should not deter the Toffees from making an approach.
Instead, Everton should be making an offer for the French international – whose contract ends in the summer of 2023 – and L’Equipe believe that a bid as little as £6.8million would be enough for the Bundesliga side to accept.
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That is easily within the budget at Goodison Park and it would effectively be the Richarlison replacement Lampard needs as he can play similar roles to the Brazilian.
But they need to get a bid accepted and then start talking to Plea because heading back to Nice in Ligue 1 would be a dreadful backwards step in his career and at 29 years of age, he may not get a big move again after this summer.
Everton need to make that abundantly clear to the Frenchman when (if) they enter negotiations because he is the ideal backup striker to Calvert-Lewin once he returns to fitness and an adequate replacement in his absence.