Everton’s options up front have become the story of this early campaign for the club, Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered a knee injury in training before the season even started, this left Frank Lampard with Salomon Rondon as his only out-and-out striker.
This Englishman’s faith in Rondon was shown when he started the first two games of the campaign without a striker, and in both games, Everton struggled to finish the chances they were creating causing alarm bells to start ringing for fans.
Things may be looking up as, according to Fabrizio Romano, it looks like Everton are working on a deal to sign Blackburn and Chilean international Ben Brereton Díaz. Manager Frank Lampard will decide if he wants Diaz or not.
Everton and Southampton are both showing interest in James Garner. No agreement/decision made, but he’s expected to leave Manchester United in the next days. 🚨🔴 #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 24, 2022
Everton are also working on Ben Brereton Díaz deal - Lampard has to decide if he wants him or not. #EFC pic.twitter.com/QI8X4N2RrM
Blackburn have been trying to offer their star man a new contract, but after a move to Nice was recently rejected it looks like Díaz is planning to make his way out of Lancashire. This seems to have gone hand-in-hand with the forward’s form, with Díaz having an electrifying start to this season with two goals and one assist in his first three games, but after the Nice move was rejected, Díaz has not scored or assisted and even came off the bench in Rovers’ 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United.
Everton working on the Ben Brereton Diaz deal
There are multiple clubs interested in Díaz, but it looks like Everton could pounce on the forward for a discounted fee because Díaz’s deal runs out next Summer and Blackburn won’t want to risk losing their star for nothing.
At 23 years old, Díaz still has a lot of time to develop and it seems now would be the perfect time for him to make the jump up to the Premier League. It looked like Díaz was going to be the spearhead in a Blackburn team that had the potential to challenge for automatic promotion, but after missing seven games due to a ruptured ankle ligament Blackburn fell apart and were not able to find that momentum again, finishing 8th in the Championship.
In only 37 games Díaz managed 22 goals and three assists, contributing to 42% of the goals Blackburn scored in that campaign. His record for the Chilean national team is also quite impressive with four goals in his 14 caps for La Roja.
Blackburn have tried to ask for £25 million for the striker but is more than likely that a club will end up paying closer to half of that, probably in the range of around £15 million with a possibility of add-ons.
For that price and the versatility Díaz offers with his ability to play on the left wing when Calvert-Lewin returns, it would be a no-brainer for Everton to pounce on this deal while they have a chance to grab a player who could be the club’s next South American star.
Will the Toffees sign Ben Brereton Diaz?