Five rumoured Everton transfer targets ranked — strikers edition | OneFootball

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Everton desperately require an upgrade on Beto and Thierno Barry, but who should the club look to sign in the January transfer window?

Everton’s centre of attack is a sorry state of affairs, despite a £27M summer investment in Barry. The 23-year-old has not been a regular starter under David Moyes, but that is no excuse for failing to score a goal as December approaches.

Beto has been the main man up top but he has only netted twice in all competitions this season. Worse still, the Guinea-Bissau international has more expected goals per shot than Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland, yet has the worst goals vs xG ratio in the top flight.

If Everton are to have any chance of even beginning to compete for the European spots, a new centre-forward is an essential need. With this in mind, here is a ranking of five strikers who have been recently linked with a move to the Toffees.

Everton should not prioritise Joshua Zirkzee

Manchester United have not done a good job at bringing the best out of their new signings over the past few years, which includes proven professionals, as well as young prospects. Moving to Old Trafford comes with a weight of expectation which some players simply haven’t handled.

Joshua Zirkzee is a good example, with the Dutchman scoring just three Premier League goals in 32 appearances last season. He arrived as the reigning Serie A Young Player of the Year but has failed to reach that level in England. Since a thigh injury ruled him out for the remainder of the previous campaign back in April, Zirkzee has not started a single competitive game for the Red Devils.

His goal tally of 11 at Bologna in 2023-24 was better, but this is the same number of times Barry scored for Villarreal last season. As proven time and time again, scoring in a foreign league does not necessarily translate to the Premier League, and it is worth adding that 11 goals, well not inherently bad, is not particularly impressive for a centre forward. There have been plenty of examples of Manchester United cast-offs excelling after leaving Old Trafford, but this feels like a risk.

Richarlison has his pros and cons

Richarlison has been linked with a return to Everton and while some supporters have dreamed about having the Brazilian back, others believe it is better to move forward and consider new options.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters were delighted by the way Richarlison started the season, but his form has been hot and cold. Surprisingly, given past fitness problems, the 28-year-old is not one of the strikers who has been unavailable to Spurs due to injury.

Richarlison has four goals and two assists in the Premier League this season. This is a slightly superior record to Illiman Ndiaye, who has been one of Everton’s top performers, despite significantly less minutes. Ultimately, the former Goodison Park goalscorer would be a huge improvement on Moyes’ existing options, but there are more exciting players on the club’s radar.

Ivan Toney is a proven star in England

Ivan Toney departed Brentford to join Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League shortly after the conclusion of his gambling ban. He may be benefitting from a healthy salary and a league where scoring goals is not all that difficult, but Thomas Tuchel has not given Toney a recall to the England national team.

The striker turns 30 next year and should pursue a move back to Europe if he wants to be given the chance to play at the 2026 World Cup. Everton would be a good destination for Toney, because he would definitely start ahead of Beto and Barry.

However, Toney is not too dissimilar to the club’s current centre-forwards in regards to style of play and, like Richarlison, he is unlikely to be part of a long-term project, or a player who will develop and improve. The ex-Premier League goal machine has the ability to score, which Everton need, but they could be put off by the potential transfer fee and wage demands.

Troy Parrott is a wanted man in the Premier League

It has already been mentioned that scoring goals abroad does not guarantee success in England. Troy Parrott never really did much during his loan moves to various EFL clubs, but he was not given a proper chance at Tottenham Hotspur.

The 23-year-old has flipped the script since moving to the Netherlands and he has already scored 13 goals in 14 appearances for AZ Alkmaar this season. Of course, the level of opposition must be taken into consideration. Seven of Parrott’s goals have come in UEFA Conference League qualifying.

However, the Irishman recently fired two goals past Nations League winners Portugal and followed this up with an all-important hat-trick against Hungary. Everton will have to compete with other English clubs for the man who cost AZ less than £7M, but his market value has risen significantly, so agreeing a deal will not be straightforward.

Franculino Dju would be the ultimate Everton signing

Midtjylland are doing big things in the Europa League this season and they lead the way in Denmark too. Franculino Dju has been key to this success, with 19 goals and three assists in 26 appearances.

At just 21 years old, this is a player who could be nurtured by Everton to adapt to the Premier League and he could make the club a lot of money a few years down the line. If Franculino keeps up his goals-per-game record in the Superliga, he will have netted 32 times in the league by the end of the season.

The youngster offers rapid movement, intelligent play on the ball and is stronger than he looks. Of course, there is always the risk that Franculino has not played at the highest level, but if he could replicate what he is doing for Midtjylland at Everton, he would be the club’s best centre-forward signing for several seasons.