Everton: Toffees could sign new Richarlison for £26m

Everton are looking at concluding two transfers in the coming days with Sean Dyche, Farhad Moshiri and co seemingly busy as the market nears its conclusion in a few weeks’ time.

Who do Everton want to sign?

Reports on Sunday afternoon suggest that Everton’s interest in Leeds winger Jack Harrison is now ‘very advanced’. That said, he is not the only forward on Dyche’s radar after the season kicked off this weekend.

Indeed, according to Football Insider on Saturday, they are working on securing Portuguese attacker Beto on a loan deal with an obligation to buy, with talks advancing over the past few days.

The Toffees have been monitoring his situation all summer but were reluctant to meet his €30m (£26m) price tag, though an initial short-term contract could work in their favour.

Everton’s Premier League campaign began with a 1-0 home defeat to Fulham this weekend, accentuating the need for offensive reinforcements despite the signings of Arnaut Danjuma and Youssef Chermiti.

Everton could repeat the signing of Richarlison by luring Beto to Goodison Park, with the Brazilian leaving the club for Tottenham Hotspur in a £60m deal last year but departing as one of the club’s most distinguishable stars of recent memory.

How many goals did Richarlison score for Everton?

Arriving from Premier League rivals Watford in 2018 for £50m, the 26-year-old scored twice on his competitive debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers to kickstart a 53-goal haul across 152 outings while plying his trade on Merseyside, with former manager Carlo Ancelotti claiming he is “among the best forwards”.

Standing at 6 foot, the 44-cap star – with 20 goals for Brazil – is not the tallest of forwards but utilises his aerial dominance superlatively, ranking among the top 7% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for aerial wins per 90, as per FBref.

Hailed as a “warrior” by former Spurs boss Antonio Conte, the £90k-per-week gem brings an imposing element to his game and this is something that Beto could replicate under Dyche’s wing on Merseyside, with the 52-year-old’s management style focussing heavily on aerial dominance and dogged determination.

How good is Beto?

Standing at 6 foot 4, Beto is a taller figure and has averaged 1.8 shots and 2.2 aerial wins across the duration of his career, as per WhoScored, but has hit double-digits across all four league campaigns of his career, including 22 goals across his two years in Serie A.

The 25-year-old also ranks among the top 20% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons, the top 10% for clearances and the top 25% for interceptions per 90, as per FBref, illustrating his Richarlison-like tenacity and relentlessness that could slot into Everton’s system seamlessly.

He has been lauded for his “quality” and intelligence by journalist Josh Bunting, and his ten league goals and 1.8 shots per match last term, as per Sofascore, were not bettered by Everton forwards Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Neal Maupay and Demarai Gray.

With journalist Sam Tighe also waxing lyrical over the ace’s ability to “spook defenders”, claiming that makes the opposition panic with his brutish presence and physicality, he could emulate Richarlison in his imperious former role at Goodison Park, and could perhaps finally restore some offensive verve to the Toffees’ frontline.