In a recent report, AS in Columbia claimed that Everton remain keen admirers of Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata. It has been revealed that the Toffees could face competition in the form of Torino in the race to acquire the services of the experienced centre-forward.
Zapata’s Lackluster Season At The Gewiss Stadium
Zapata is experiencing a difficult campaign at Atalanta as he has failed to be consistent for them deep inside the opposition half. The veteran forward has banged in one goal and earned four assists in 17 appearances for the Italian outfit this season across all fronts.
The 31-year-old has struggled to be productive on the attacking end of the field and has only managed to average 1.4 shots, 0.5 key passes and 0.6 dribbles per game in Serie A. He has even been a bit careless when linking up play in the final third as evidenced by his pass success rate of 70.6% in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
Zapata is under contract at the Gewiss Stadium until the end of next season. Therefore, Everton could potentially arrange a cut-price move for him in the summer.
What Will Zapata Bring To Everton?
Zapata can use his powerful 1.89m frame to dominate the aerial battle against the opposition centre-halves. He excels at finding space for himself to get a few strikes in at goal and can be quite clever with his movements in and around the opponent’s penalty box. The Colombian attacker can also create some decent plays for others around him when he is playing well on the field. However, he has struggled to give a good account of himself for Atalanta this season and could benefit from a change of scenery in search of more success next summer.
We can expect Zapata to bring some much-needed firepower to Everton boss Sean Dyche‘s attack as long as he can make a smooth transition to life at the Merseyside club. He would offer some healthy competition for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the race to earn a regular starting spot at Goodison Park in the coming seasons.
At 31, Zapata is a player on the decline. However, Dyche can definitely use someone with his experience to bolster his Everton squad in the off-season. However, the jury is out on whether the player can adapt to the high intensity of regular football in the Premier League if the Toffees decide to move in for him later this year.
