Everton have emerged as a shocking new name in the race to land Celtic’s goal scoring sensation Moussa Dembele, according to latest reports. The Toffees are desperately seeking replacements for their outgoing top scorer Romelu Lukaku and manager Ronald Koeman believes that the Frenchman would be the ideal replacement for the Belgian.
Everton have been quite active in the transfer window so far, following a decent finish to the campaign bygone. They have already secured the services of former Sunderland goalie Jordan Pickford and AFC Ajax skipper Davy Klassen, stating their intentions quite clear very early.
However, the biggest challenge for the Merseyside club would be to replace their Belgian superstar potentially, whose 25-goal feat for the club last season played a significant role in them finishing seventh in the Premier League last season. They would be challenging on four fronts next campaign and substituting their top scorer is definitely an uphill task to complete.
And to further worsen the situation, Koeman doesn’t have any quality backup on the bench for the centre-forward’s role. Enner Valencia did an impressive task last season but has returned to West Ham United who had loaned him. Koeman doesn’t share an amicable relationship with Oumar Niasse, and the Senegal international is a likely departure this summer.
Dembele would surely be a level up for Everton by all means. The France Under 21 is one of the hottest transfer targets for almost all top European side- Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan– keepings tabs on his progress. He played a significant part in Brendan Rodgers’ invincible season in the Scottish Premiership, scoring 32 goals and assisting nine times in all competitions.
A centre-forward by nature, Dembele can also play on the left flank and his sublime dribbling abilities make him one of the most cherished forwards in world football. At just 20, he has shown some phenomenal finishing in the Champions League, where Celtic had to face Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach in the group stages.
The Paris Saint-Germain Academy product was picked up by Fulham back in 2012. He was clearly above the average there and Celtic bought him last summer for only £400,000. The Hoops unwilling to part ways with him is understandable but if Everton meets their asking price of £30 million, the Scottish giants would find it difficult to resist.
However, with so many grand suitors waiting for him, Dembele’s decision would be final and given that he would get regular football at Goodison Park could be an influencing factor.
