It's no secret that Everton lack dynamism in many places throughout the pitch, most notably last season on the right wing.
Last year, a trio of players spent most of the time holding down the role: Jack Harrison, Jesper Lindstrom, and Dwight McNeil. The former two were both on loan and have returned to their parent clubs, with neither looking set to appear after disappointing spells.
As for McNeil, his extreme left-footedness makes him a different type of option along the right, as both he and Iliman Ndiaye look to cut inside onto their stronger foot, although the Senegal international can use his left quite effectively.
There is a chance that Ndiaye himself could also be an option on the right, a position he holds down when on international duty, but Everton manager David Moyes clearly prefers the club talisman on the left.
And so the search continues for a player who can be both pacy and add goals on the right, which leads us to the rumors about Everton's interest in PSV Eindhoven's Johan Bakayoko, a player we suggested could be one to watch for the Toffees just a few weeks ago.
As noted in the previous article, the Belgian winger is coming off a down season relative to his 13 goals across all competitions in 2023/24, a season that also saw him contribute 10 assists. Still, 11 goals and two assists in fewer minutes (3142 vs 2437) isn't a bad output.
With Bakayoko having just turned 22 in April, he's still got some growing to do, but he's a physically solid player with plenty of pace and technical skill. The really shocking part of all this mess is not just that the player is available, but that the fee is reasonable.
PSV are reportedly asking somewhere in the neighborhood of €25 million, although numbers as high as €60 million have also been reported. The other issue is that Everton will not be alone in their pursuit of the player, as European clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle United, and others are also in the mix.
The numbers are especially interesting considering what PSV just received for American Malik Tillman, who will head to Leverkusen for €40 million.
As we've said many times before, it is heartening to see Everton getting into conversations about players like Bakayoko. Instead of spending resources on older players with little left to offer, spending money on rising stars such as him and Thierno Barry, who joined the Toffees earlier this week, is a statement of intent from the new ownership group.
That doesn't mean Everton will be able to pay the massive fees or convince players to join all the time, at least not yet, but the hope is this is just the beginning of that sort of intentionality on the part of the club.