Anthony Onifade

Sat 1 July 2023 8:30, UK

Everton are again targetting Villarreal forward Arnaut Danjuma, five months after he rejected a move to Goodison Park and the Toffees must bury the hatchet to secure an exciting transfer opportunity.

The Blues, under Frank Lampard’s management at the time, were on the brink of signing the 26-year-old during the winter window before Lampard’s inevitable sacking saw Danjuma instead make the move to Tottenham.

However, the Dutchman’s temporary spell at Tottenham proved unfruitful, scoring just two goals from his 12 games in all competitions in North London.

And according to the Daily Mail [30 June], Everton are looking to return to the table for Danjuma after he rejected the chance to sign for the Blues in January.

It is understood that there is no “bad blood” between the two parties despite the Dutchman’s decision to pull the plug on a potential Goodison Park move.

The Dutchman is said to have appreciated that Everton accepted his decision and they parted on good terms, as claimed by the report.

Danjuma’s dramatic U-turn at the 11th hour in the winter was the icing on the cake of a miserable and disastrous transfer window that saw not one new addition arrive to help Sean Dyche in his attempt to rescue Lampard’s crumbling season.

And Everton were made to suffer for that as Dyche was forced to rely heavily on the likes of Alex Iwobi and Dwight McNeil as part of his tried and trusted attacking setup to some tremendous success, with Everton avoiding relegation to the Championship on the final day, despite finishing the campaign as the division’s second-lowest scorers (34 goals).

The need for an attacking spark at Goodison Park has long been a desired commodity under Dyche’s tutelage and it is a surprise that both the Toffees and Danjuma are ready to revisit a failed move that could have cost Everton so dearly in the end.

However, given Danjuma’s apparent star quality, despite his struggles at Tottenham during the second half of last season, this is an opportunity Everton simply cannot afford to miss out on and the Blues must bury the hatchet to secure a player ready to prove himself in the Premier League at the third time of asking.

Indeed, securing the “brilliant” Danjuma could represent the upgrade that Dyche is desperately craving right now, with the Dutchman man offering the flexibility to feature on the flanks or in a centre-forward berth.

The former Bournemouth man notably bagged six goals in 17 games in all competitions before the January debacle, after previously enjoying a standout campaign under current Aston Villa boss Unai Emery last term, providing 20 goal involvements in just 34 games for the La Liga side.

A player who can clearly flourish at the elite level – having scored six goals during the Spanish outfit’s surge to the Champions League last four – Danjuma has previously showcased a consistency that none of Dyche’s current attacking options have managed to match.

With Demarai Gray looking destined to leave Goodison Park, and Alex Iwobi making his Champions League ambitions clear, Everton simply cannot be chooser in this scenario.

Any “bad blood” that may well have arisen from his previous snub must be buried as Danjuma represents the kind of attacking quality that Dyche and Kevin Thelwell need to make this summer.