After a short purple patch, Romelu Lukaku is back to form for Everton again banging in the goals. The Belgium international has been a class apart for the Merseyside side this season. He is the second highest goal scorer in the Premier League now with 16 goals and four assists in 24 appearances after Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez.
Although Everton have been ambitious in the transfer window of late and have improved their position in their Premier League, one would notice that it is still insufficient to keep Lukaku at the club for long. Everton boss Ronald Koeman has himself stated that the player is too good for the club and deserves a bigger club for his talent to reach its potential.
The Belgian was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge last summer and he even initially intimated that he wanted to leave Goodison Park, but he finally decided against it after Koeman convinced him about staying at Everton. And with Chelsea desperate to add options up front with Diego Costa’s stay quite unsure next season, Lukaku’s departure this summer is imminent.
And it seems like Koeman is already looking at options to fill the void if and when the Belgian leaves Goodison Park. Among the long list of striking options, the latest name to have emerged is Palermo striker Ilija Nestorovski.
According to Italian news outlet Calciomercato, Everton had sent scouts to watch the striker during their 4-1 defeat at hands of Juventus this past Friday. Despite starting the season quite slowly, the Macedonia international has been delivering some convincing performances for the Serie A relegation candidates of late.
The 26-year-old has scored nine goals and registered three assists in 25 Serie A games this season so far. A move for the striker could end up being successful given that the Rosanero are very likely to be relegated at the end of the season. They have only won three games this season.
A centre-forward by nature, Nestorovski can also play on the flanks. A youth product of Macedonian side Pobeda Prilep, Nestorovski moved to Czech club FC Slovácko in 2010. He then spent loan stints in numerous clubs like FK Viktoria Zizkov, Metalurg Skopje, NK Inter Zapresic before making a permanent move to the Croatian side in 2015. Palermo realised his potential in 2016 and brought him last summer.
Nestorovski’s Palermo contract runs until 2019 but the prolific striker will probably leave the club at the end of the season if they don’t manage to avoid relegation. Everton could be a huge step up for the player and his muscular presence will fare well in the league and could make a good successor to Lukaku.
