Richarlison has been a key player for Everton
Everton face one of its toughest seasons in the last few years. The Toffees are fighting for their survival in the Premier League as they currently occupy the 17th position in the Premier League standings and it seems the end of the season will be full of emotions for Everton fans.
In 27 matches played so far in this Premier League season, the blue side of Liverpool have just seven victories, four draws, and 16 losses. Even though they were able to get an extremely important win against Newcastle last Thursday, Everton have a terrible 1-4 record in their last five PL games.
Being relegated would represent not only a catastrophic scenario regarding football itself, but also in the finances of the club, due to the fact a club playing the Championship earn much less than a Premier League squad, and the team would have to sell players to keep their economics in a good shape.
One of the Toffees who would bring the highest amount of money to Everton’s pocket in case of a transfer is Richarlison. The Brazilian is definitely one of the most important players in Everton’s squad and it seems almost impossible to keep the 24-year-old striker in Goodison Park in case of relegation.
Many rumours come up every week about possible destinations for the striker and it seems like Manchester United are leading the race to sign Richarlison by the end of the season. According to 90min, Richarlison could leave Everton by the end of this season, as the Brazilian is one of the main targets for the Red Devils in this summer transfer window.
In the Premier League, there are good strikers who are just waiting for an opportunity to showcase their skills in a big club, like Everton, or who are trying to reach their best performances after bad seasons. In this article, we will look at different Premier League strikers that could be a good replacement for Richarlison.
Here are five Premier League strikers Everton must consider if Ricarlison leaves
Joao Pedro is an exciting Brazilian at Watford
João Pedro is one of the most exciting youngsters in the Premier League and he would be one of the best choices for Everton to replace Richarlison.
The Brazilian from Ribeirão Preto and Richarlison have similar roots as both started in Fluminense, club from Rio de Janeiro, and Watford are their first club in Europe. While Everton’s ace arrived in the summer of 2017 at the Hornets, Pedro became a Premier League player on January 1, 2020 after an incredible year defending Fluminense’s colours.
The 20-year old has always been of the most talented players in Fluminense’s youth teams and this attracted the attention of many European clubs. In October of 2018, Watford reached an agreement around €20 million with the Brazilian team to have Pedro as their player.
Since Pedro was just 17 years old by the time he was sold to Watford, and he could go to Watford just when he turned 18, the Brazilian youngster played the 2019 season in Brazil and he got everybody’s attention after amazing performances as one of the main players of the squad from Rio de Janeiro. In 28 matches for Fluminense, João Pedro scored seven goals and provided two assists to his teammates.
In his first year at Watford, the Brazilian had difficulties adapting to a new culture and a new system of football and his first season did not go as expected.
However, the striker was important for the Hornets in the 2020-21 season and he helped the team to achieve their main objective which was being promoted to the Premier League, as he scored nine goals and gave three assists in 28 matches for Watford.
In this 2021-22 season, despite the fact Watford also face a huge chance to be relegated once again, Pedro has been one of the few positive points in the squad.
The youngster and Richarlison have similar characteristics as both are fast, have a deadly finish and are able to play as a winger or as a central striker. The Toffees would probably have to pay between €10 and €25 million to have the striker as one of their players, according to Transfermarkt, and this seems to be a reasonable amount of money to pay for a player who seems to have a bright future.
Ivan Toney has been a player previously linked to Everton
Ivan Toney is one of the most interesting players in this Premier League season. The English striker has been amazing in the 2021-22 season and his performances with Brentford has attracted the attention of many football fans around the world.
The 26-year-old ace seems to be reaching the peak of his career after struggling to achieve high-level performance wearing other teams’ jerseys.
Toney’s incredible form started back in the 2020-21 season when he was one of the key players of Brentford’s squad and led the team to finish as one of the top-3 teams in the EPL Championship in 2021. Last season, in 52 matches wearing Brentford’s jersey, Ivan Toney scored 33 goals, provided two assists and finished the year as the top-goal scorer of the EPL Championship.
The good performances are still there and the Englishman has been of the main reasons to describe why the Bees are having a positive season, despite occupying the fifth-worst position in the Premier League standings.
So far in this season, Toney has played 29 matches, scored 14 goals and provided three assists. Because of his good performances, the striker has attracted the attention of many clubs and it seems that the 26-year-old will not stay at Brentford next season.
Earlier this year, it was reported by different English tabloids Toney was the main target for West Ham United and Chelsea would also be interested to add the striker to their squad.
It is true Toney and Richarlison do not have very similar characteristics. However, in the case of Richarlison’s departure, the Toffees would need a striker who is capable of living with the pressure to be the main reason why Everton are scoring goals, and because of his performances, it seems like Toney can handle this pressure.
Alexandre Lacazette’s contract runs out this summer
Arsenal seems to be on the right track to going back to Champions League nights and, even though many fans do not agree with that, Lacazette is one of the key reasons for it.
The French striker took the spotlight of Arsenal’s centre striker position after Aubameyang’s departure and, despite the fact he has been criticized by many Arsenal fans and journalists, Laca took an important role inside the team.
The 30-year-old, who arrived in London in the summer of 2017 after amazing seasons wearing Olympique Lyonnais’ jersey, has been one of the leaders inside the Gunners locker room and he has helped the team to be a competent contender for a Champions League spot this season.
It is true this season Lacazette has not scored the same amount of goals Arsenal fans were used to seeing in his last seasons as a gunner. However, the French ace has been extremely important in Arteta’s tactics as he is one of the players who are able to create the spaces for his teammates to have a chance to score and he has also provided an interesting number of assists for a central striker.
In the 2021-22 season, Laca has played 29 matches, scored six goals and provided eight assists. Even though the French man is considered by many as an important player in Arsenal’s squad this season, the fact many fans and journalists do not agree with this statement made the club from North London go to the transfer market to search for a replacement for the ace.
Because of that, Lacazette’s market value has been decreasing after every transfer rumour and his value is around €20 million, according to Transfermarkt.
A move to the blue side of Merseyside would be interesting for Lacazette, as he is already used to the Premier League game style and as he is trying to go back to his golden days.
Patrick Bamford is an established goal scorer in England
Just like Everton, Leeds United are also facing an extremely difficult season and the squad will also be fighting against relegation until the last days of this Premier League year. However, many Leeds fans were not expecting this scenario for this season because of last year’s performances led by the English striker Patrick Bamford.
The 28-year-old striker, who has arrived in Leeds in the summer of 2018, has been one of the key players for the Peacocks and he has been the top-goal scorer in the squad since then. Bamford was one of the main players for the victorious Leeds’ campaign in the EFL Championship 2019-2020 and he led the team to go back to Premier League after years without playing the best football league in the world.
In his first Premier League season wearing the Peacocks’ jersey, Bamford was just outstanding. In 38 matches, the ace scored 17 goals, gave eight assists and he was considered by many the best player in the Leeds United squad that year.
Leeds’ fans had high hopes for Bamford this season and they were expecting the English would lead the squad to fight for higher positions in the championship standings. However, two injuries were responsible for leaving the striker out of the squad for 22 matches this season and his numbers are not even close with the ones from previous seasons, as he has two goals and two assists, in 10 games this season.
Despite Bamford’s struggles this season because of his injuries, he has already proved he has what it takes to showcase high level performances to his fans and Everton could be a good place for the player to redeem himself after a tough season.
Callum Wilson is a typical No.9
After being bought by the Saudi billionaire, Newcastle United will probably be very active in the next transfer window. Despite the fact the team are currently fighting against relegation, like Everton, the Magpies are more likely to be one of the participants of the 2022-23 Premier League season and this is why they are already going to the market to see good alternatives to their squad.
Because of that, one of the players who are likely to lose space in the squad is the English striker Callum Wilson. The 30-year-old footballer has been important for the Magpies this season alongside Saint-Maximin and he has led the team to achieve good results by scoring essential goals.
The striker, who had a victorious run at Bournemouth, arrived in Newcastle last season to be one of the top players in the squad. In his first season at Saint James Park, Wilson reached the expectations of Newcastle fans and he was named as Newcastle’s 2020-2021 player of the season, as he scored 12 goals and gave five assists in 28 games.
However, the 2021-2022 season has not gone as expected for Wilson, as well as for the Magpies. The team have flirted with the relegation zone all season, and the team struggled to have a safe distance from the relegation zone as they have now.
The bad situation of the club is reflected in Wilson’s performance and the striker has not been able to reach last year’s football level this season. The English ace was out of combat in 18 games of this season because of injuries and he has just six goals, in 15 matches played.
However, just like Bamford, Wilson has already proved he can be the top goal scorer of a Premier League squad and take his team to the top. An Everton move could also be beneficial to Wilson, as he needs to go back to his best performances and he will lose space in the team because of the fact new players will arrive.
Will Richarlison stay at Everton beyond this season?