Everton’s aggressive recruitment drive doesn’t look like ending anytime soon, as it seems, as new reports emerge that the Merseyside club is now eyeing a double swoop for Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud and Swansea City star Gylfi Sigurdsson. Both the players face uncertain futures at their respective clubs and the Toffees are eyeing to exploit this window of opportunity.
The towering French forward has been one of Arsenal’s key players since moving from Ligue 1 side Montpellier back in 2012. Though not the prolific goal scorer like that of Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie, Lucas Podolski and co, the forward has been the biggest pillar of support for the Gunners’ attacking lineup. He has scored 98 goals and registered 41 assists in 227 appearances for the club over the last five years.
However, last season saw him falling down the pecking order as he returned late from an injury while Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott had already established themselves in the striker’s role. His services were still needed though, to get some crucial results against top sides despite him starting as a bench player most of the times. Now, with Alexandre Lacazette as another option at the Emirates, Giroud is seeking his assurances as a regular player with a danger of the 31-year-old leaving lingering above the club.
Though Wenger has shown more faith in him in their pre-season tour, Everton will hope they clinch him in lure of a first team place and with an equally armed up attack. However, his place in their attacking line remains a conundrum.
He can be an ideal replacement for the departed Romelu Lukaku, who would receive the perfectly distributed passes from Jordan Pickford and place it comfortably at the feet of Wayne Rooney, Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez to have a crack in.
Sigurdsson’s move to Everton seems to be a saga being drawn from eternity but it is definitely worth it. The Icelandic forward is at the peak of his career and Everton could go a long way to become a Premier League title contender in the next few years if they manage to land him.
The attacking midfielder has scored 10 goals and assisted 13 times last season and almost single-handedly saved the Swans from relegation.
If the deal goes through, which looks a better possibility than the Giroud one right now, given how close they had come a few weeks back, we can expect him to take Kevin Mirallas’ position on the left flank. The Belgian international has been too inconsistent since the last season and the uncertainty of Ross Barkley also gets a solution by his arrival.
While Olivier Giroud could cost Everton somewhere in the region of £25 million, Paul Clement is reportedly asking a whopping £50m for the playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson.
