Everton’s hunt for a prolific goalscorer might suffer a massive blow following the overnight rumours of Cardiff City’s £25m transfer bid for FC Nantes striking sensation Emiliano Sala. Simon Jones has penned the news for Mailonline, and this must have come as a blow for Everton as they were reportedly (an earlier report from Mailonline) chasing the 28-year-old Argentine for quite a while.
Starting his career with Bordeaux, Sala finally settled in Pays de la Loire in the aftermath of a £1m transfer back in summer of 2015. He, under former boss Claudio Ranieri, found the net 12 times last season but has already bettered his previous best with 13 goals from 16 outings so far this campaign.
The 6 ft 2 in centre-forward is currently leading the Ligue 1 tally (jointly with Kylian Mbappe) following his midweek strike against Marseille in Nantes’ 3-2 win and caught the eyes of Neil Warnock, the Cardiff City manager, who attended the game to monitor him closely.
However, a host of other Premier League clubs scouted the Argentine extensively while representatives from Everton, Leicester City, Burnley and West Ham United were also in the stands to watch him spearheading the Canaries attack. The in-form forward is at the pinnacle of his career and has emerged as a prime transfer target of many clubs during the winter window.
While Cardiff are keen on recruiting him to stay out of the drop zone, Everton requires Sala as they need an outright goalscorer having failed with both Cenk Tosun and Oumar Niasse as the club’s ‘number 9’. Wideman Richarlison has done considerably well in a makeshift centre-forward role but lacks the usual instincts to feature as a target man. Marco Silva, the Toffees boss, would be benefitted from Sala’s work ethic as well as goal poaching instinct that has helped him succeed in French football.
Everton, meanwhile, must react quickly to at least match the Bluebirds’ valuation and stand a chance of roping him in right under the nose of the Premier League new boys. They are chasing a place in Europe following a successful summer splurge but need to flex their muscle once again in the upcoming January transfer window.
Sala, nevertheless, should prefer a move to Goodison over battling out to escape a relegation scare and his presence upfront would allow more versatility, variation and attacking flair in the Toffees frontline. But they must splash the cash to make this happen and have a livewire striker with plenty of class, quality and attributes to fit in at the Merseyside.
