Everton can land their own Bukayo Saka as data reveals Baris Alper Yilmaz profile

Baris Alper Yilmaz has emerged as a concrete option for Everton in the summer transfer window.

The Galatasaray winger has long been a target for the Toffees, with links first emerging back in January.

Everton are in need of additional attackers with the likes of Dwight McNeil not exactly providing much hope for supporters.

While the Englishman has had his moments, he has not been a consistent threat in the final third.

Additionally, Tyler Dibling has yet to adapt in L3 and there is no guarantee that could change.

And with reports of a potential exit for Iliman Ndiaye, the Blues could be left quite light, and Yilmaz could help fix that issue.

How Everton target Baris Alper Yilmaz is alike to Bukayo Saka

26-year-old Yilmaz is not a player for the future, with him at a peak age for a winger.

Everton could very well be his next career move amid reports of interest from the Toffees.

And as previously reported by Goodison News, there is "truth" behind Everton's interest in Yilmaz.

However, interestingly, on Data.MB, when looking at those similar to Yilmaz, it is Arsenal's Bukayo Saka who emerges as one of those most alike to the Turkish forward.

As shown below, the duo fill out similar areas of the graph.

Of course, Saka has been doing it at a much higher level in the Premier League but both are high-level creative wingers.

That is evident in the fact that Yilmaz is in the 86th percentile for progressive carries, with Saka in 83rd, showcasing they are excellent at driving the ball forward.

With Yilmaz also being in the 87.6th percentile for key passes, it shows he can create chances consistently, and he can do so with his crossing ability.

He is ranked in the 82.7th percentile for crosses completed, showing he regulalry delivers balls into the box.

All of which are also qualities that Saka regularly shows for the Premier League champions, with a percentile rank of 97.1 in key passes and a rank of 89.3 in crosses complete.

How Yilmaz’s qualities could transform Everton’s frontline

Yilmaz is not a goalscoring winger at heart, although he did score eight goals for Galatasaray last season.

But, he is much more suited to supplying chances to the striker due to his creativity.

For Everton, that could see the likes of Beto and Thierno Barry get on the end of more chances.

That has been an issue for the Merseyside club. According to Sofascore, Everton finished last season in 15th place for shots per game with 11.1.

So the arrival of Yilmaz could be transformative if he can continue his output for chance creation.