‘Gabigol’ and USA striker linked to Everton
Everton are interested in two new strikers; Brazilian star Gabriel Barbosa and US international Matthew Hoppe according to rumours emerging over the past few days.
The two players are apparently both now on the radar of Everton as manager Rafa Benitez ponders his next moves in the transfer window.
So far Benitez has brought in three players on the cheap with goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray all arriving for minimal expense.
The new Toffees boss also needs to still trim his squad and the first player to leave has been Bernard who has finally gone to a middle eastern club.
But, while the Blues do still need to shift some more players out (possibly as many as six or seven) there is still a pressing need for further reinforcements, including in attack.
While Benitez has added two wingers of course in Townsend and Gray, he and Everton have been linked with bringing in another wide attacker.
A further issue is the strikeforce. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the main centre-forward who will hopefully benefit from the improved service provided by Townsend and Gray and possibly one other.
Alongside Calvert-Lewin could be Richarlison whenever he returns from his summer representing Brazil in the Copa America and then the Olympics.
His future is still uncertain though and it’s possible he may not be an Everton player at the end of the month when the transfer window finishes.
Even if, as is more likely, Richarlison does stay at Goodison Park, how he will operate alongside the England forward in Benitez’s tactical system is not clear.
Then there is Moise Kean. The young Italian striker’s future is very much up in the air and while he has returned to Merseyside it doesn’t seem as though he wants to stay at Goodison Park.
Sorting out what is going to happen with him is critical before any further moves can be made in the market to bring fresh players in as the fee he would earn can be re-invested.
And the Toffees still ideally need another further goalscoring threat up front as Calvert-Lewin is prone to missing a lot of chances and Richalison had an average season last time around.
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And that only leaves as the other senior alternative Turkish centre-forward Cenk Tosun who is not up to the job in the Premier League.
Well the club are now supposedly looking at both Brazilian Barbosa and American striker Hoppe as players who might just give the Blues a further edge up front.
The Flamengo forward Barbosa is known as ‘Gabigol’ in his homeland and seems to be a very good striker with all the right qualities, at least on paper.
The fee being quoted for him is £40 million, which is a significant amount especially in these difficult times financially. It’s also an amount I can’t see Everton paying for a striker in Brazilian domestic football, no matter how impressive his stats.
The other striker is USA international Hoppe. The 20-year-old has been playing in the Bundesliga with Schalke 04 and knocked in a reasonably respectable six goals in fifteen appearances in the German top flight. He’s young with plenty of time to improve further.
I’m not sure either of these players is actually genuinly on the radar of the club (probably not) but while there are plenty of other positions that need strengthening, adding more firepower up front might well take a back seat anyway.