Anthony Onifade

Sat 1 July 2023 12:40, UK

Everton are reportedly interested in Swansea City striker Joel Piroe with tentative enquiries made to the Welsh giants and Kevin Thelwell may be fearing for his job should he slip through his fingers.

The 23-year-old has swiftly become one of the Championship’s most ruthless finishers over the past two campaigns, notching 20 goals from 45 appearances last season after hitting 24 goals the previous term.

Piroe looks almost certain to leave Swansea this summer and is now attracting Premier League interest after a stunning campaign, with his contract still having a year left to run.

According to Wales Online [29 June], the Dutchman is attracting keen interest from an unnamed Eredivisie outfit, as well as Nottingham Forest and Everton.

The Toffees have made tentative enquiries for his services this summer, but are yet to firm up their interest with a serious approach, the report claims.

Everton have been heavily linked with another hot Championship property in Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres, showing just how desperate the Blues are in securing a consistent goalscorer to bolster Dyche’s depleted weaponry.

However, the Swede has reportedly rejected the chance of a Premier League move this summer [O Jogo newspaper, 28 June, page 9] meaning Everton could well be turning their attention to another English second-division striker and Piroe is one proposition director of football Kevin Thelwell simply cannot pass up on.

Everton’s need for fresh options in attack has been well-documented over the last couple of seasons.

With Ellis Simms looking more and more likely to leave the club alongside Neal Maupay, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin still suffering from recurring injury niggles, Dyche will be looking for at least one striker signing in this summer transfer window.

Everton have certainly undergone much change behind-the-scenes in recent weeks – on 12 June, Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Grant Ingles and Graeme Sharp all left their roles at the club, after MSP Sports Capital entered an exclusivity agreement with Farhad Moshiri ahead of a 25% takeover and are looking for a fresh approach in terms of staffing at Goodison Park.

Thelwell can certainly count himself fortunate to still be in a job on Merseyside given Everton’s disastrous recruitment over the past few years and even since his appointment in early 2022 where he failed to add to Dyche’s depleted weaponry upon his arrival in January.

Dyche has had to work with one hand tied behind his back and did so to tremendous success as Everton narrowly avoided relegation on the final day.

However, such instances won’t be accepted amongst the Goodison fanbase next season and fans will be expecting Thelwell to get his finger out and get Dyche the players he needs to turn the Everton fortunes around, even despite their financial difficulties which may force them to sell key stars such as Amadou Onana.

Given the Toffees’ damning goalscoring exploits last season, finishing as the division’s second-lowest scorers (34 goals), signing a striker will be high on their priority list and Piroe represents the perfect candidate to lead the club forward.

At 23 years, and blessed with unique attributes as a lone frontman, Piroe looks like a great name to pursue this summer. Certainly, the Premier League may seem a huge step up for the Dutchman, but we’ve seen numerous current stars make the grade and instantly become household names.

Piroe not only holds the qualities to become one but also possesses the confidence and character to become a serious success story.

The forward has enjoyed life at the Welsh club over the previous few seasons as stated previously, scoring 24 goals in 2021/22 and finding the net on 20 occasions this season, suggesting he is a prolific frontman that can score on a regular basis.

With his contract up in 2024, Everton may well secure his services for a knock-down price, and given the financial difficulties clouding over Goodison Park right now, Farhad Moshiri and Dyche certainly won’t be turning down bargain opportunities in the market.

Piroe will solve plenty of the burning attacking issues in the Everton squad but is also blessed with the size, bullish characteristics and clinical goalscoring attributes to become a serious weapon for Dyche next season.

He demonstrated his importance this season for Swansea by ranking third for big chances created (five), first for goals (19) and first for shots on target per game, displaying his all-round attacking abilities.

Does Thelwell need any more reasons to acquire Piroe’s services?