Everton dealt £17m+ transfer blow as Victor Boniface pursuit takes Bayer Leverkusen twist
Everton are in need of attackers this summer if the Toffees have any chance of avoiding a third successive Premier League relegation battle.
Ellis Simms has left for Coventry City, struggling Neal Maupay’s future is up in the air, while there remain fitness concerns regarding Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
One striker that Sean Dyche has been keen to bring in to help solve this crisis is Union Saint-Gilloise (USG) ace Victor Boniface.
According to journalist Sacha Tavolieri (15 July), the Toffees made an approach to sign the forward, who scored 22 goals and registered 12 assists in all competitions last season.
He definitely would have been a superb option for the struggling Merseyside club, although fans of the club will perhaps settle for any new attacking face at this stage of the summer transfer window.
However, it seems that Boniface is not making his way to Goodison Park, with the player in advanced talks to join Bayer Leverkusen, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, Romano noted that USG and Leverkusen are now negotiating a deal worth more than €20million (£17million) for the forward.
The new Premier League season is rapidly approaching, with Everton meeting Fulham at Goodison Park on 12 August.
If Calvert-Lewin isn’t match fit by then and Dyche does not have a new centre-forward in the door, the mood may just be a sombre one in the blue half of Merseyside.
Of course, the final third isn’t the only area that Everton need to strengthen this summer, but it is unsurprisingly the one that many fans are most worried about given their issues in attack in recent seasons.
In other Everton news, one Premier League manager wants to meet an “unbelievable” Toffees player ahead of the new season.