Anthony Onifade

Tue 20 June 2023 7:10, UK

Sean Dyche has made an “explicit” request for Everton bosses to sign Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres this summer, according to O Jogo.

The Sky Blues hotshot has enjoyed a sensational 2022/23 campaign, notching 21 goals from 49 Championship games this season and attracting interest from a host of Premier League clubs including West Ham.

However, Gyokeres is also attracting interest from Portugal too with Sporting making him a top transfer target but the Swede recently stated that he feels at home in England, giving Everton plenty of encouragement in their pursuit.

And according to O Jogo newspaper [20 June, page 13], Dyche is seemingly firming up his interest in the striker and has explicitly requested the 21-goal hotshot with Premier League offers expected to be made this week.

Push for him

Everton have desperately needed a goalscoring striker all season, having sold Richarlison to Tottenham for £60m last summer and boasted the second-worst record (34) in the division for goals scored.

With Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s struggles for fitness for much of the campaign and Neal Maupay’s failure to set Goodison Park alight since his move from Brighton last summer, the Blues will be prioritising a move for a quality number nine this summer.

Coventry’s exceptional hitman Gyokeres certainly fits the bill at Goodison Park, given his wonderful consistent knack of scoring goals and his arguable readiness to compete at the top level of English football.

Premier League football certainly seems the next step for the Swede and he is even good enough to perform at a high level for a top-eight club.

For that reason, Everton must signify their intentions for a player who is well-versed in scoring goals at an astonishing rate having registered 38 goals in the last two Championship campaigns.

And given Everton’s desperate need for goals next season, this is an opportunity Dyche and his team simply cannot afford to miss out on.