Why Everton scouts will be obsessed with Nicolo Tresoldi amid Filippo Inzaghi comparison
Everton are keen on Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi - and it is clear to see why.
The Toffees are scouring the market for a number nine ahead of the January transfer window, with Thierno Barry currently the only recognised centre-forward at the club.
Beto was sold in the summer, which raised funds for the Blues to pursue a move for AS Monaco's Folarin Balogun, which ultimately fell through in a deadline-day classic after an issue was flagged in the USA international's medical at Finch Farm.
While some have suggested that Everton could go back in for Balogun in the winter, it's understood that bridges have been burnt between the club and the player.
David Moyes will be hoping that he can bring Barry some competition in the January window, but uncertainty remains over who will be providing the funds to do so, with the Friedkin Group looking to sell the club.
However, this doesn't appear to have stopped Everton's recruitment team from making plans, with a scouting mission for Tresoldi underway.
Filippo Inzaghi comparison emerges after Nicolo Tresoldi-Everton links
Everton scouts are set to be in attendance to watch Tresoldi play for Club Brugge in their UEFA Champions League game against Lens at Jan Breydel Stadion on Wednesday, and will be able to get an in-person assessment of the forward.
The 22-year-old has scored nine goals already this season, and four of them have come in the Champions League.
However, officials from Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and more are all set to be in attendance, too.
The 6,0" centre-forward has a clear knack for finding the back of the net, and has even been compared to Filippo Inzaghi - a legendary forward who played a crucial role in Italy's 2006 World Cup triumph.
Marco Bedini was Tresoldi's coach at his first club, Fontanelle, in Italy, where he began to draw comparisons to Inzaghi.
His former coach agreed, saying, as quoted by Fanpage on 17 October: "Inside the box he has an innate quality: he reads the game a little before the others and moves in a particular way.
"When they make the comparison with Inzaghi, in my opinion, he is very apt."
In other words, Bedini agrees that the comparisons were spot on.
This is all the more reason why Everton officials will be obsessed with the prospect of bringing Tresoldi to Hill Dickinson.
Where does Tresoldi excel over Thierno Barry?
Tresoldi has four goals in eight matches in the Belgian Pro League this season, while Barry has scored three times in seven Premier League games.
But the stats go deeper than this.
Tresoldi averages better passing stats, completing 80 per cent of his passes accurately, a 5 per cent increase on Everton's current talisman.
The Club Brugge star also wins the majority of his aerial duels more often, with a nine per cent increase on Barry.
The two are very similar in other aspects of the game, but one thing Tresoldi would bring is guaranteed competition at Everton.