Everton have offered Olympique Lyonnais’ Moussa Dembele a contract worth €5m-per-year (£85k-per-week) but only if they remain in the Premier League next season.
What’s the latest on Dembele to Everton?
As per Jeunes Footeux, the Toffees have put forward a four-year contract, which would start in the summer of this year.
The 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, and there is no opportunity for him to stay at Lyon.
There is also interest in the forward from other English clubs, such as Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Southampton.
How would Dembele perform for Everton?
The 6-foot striker would join a side that has been void of goals this season.
The Toffees, who have largely had Demarai Gray leading their line in recent matches, have been unlucky with their striker choices this season.
Neal Maupay’s move from Brighton to Goodison Park for an undisclosed fee is yet to reap any rewards, whilst Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injuries have meant that he has only made 11 Premier League appearances this season.
The emergence of Ellis Simms after being on loan at Sunderland has provided some relief for the Merseyside club, but reinforcement is still needed.
Dembele has had a difficult season.
Once being compared to strikers such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo and Raul by Zinedine Zidane, the 26-year-old is yet to hit the heights that were once thought.
Having started just eight Ligue 1 matches this season, the former Celtic forward has scored three goals and is yet to make an assist – accruing an average match rating of 6.34, as per WhoScored.
Despite his poor form, the €15m-rated (£13m) forward has shown that he can offer Everton something, as demonstrated by his displays last term.
Dembele started 25 Ligue 1 matches, where he scored 21 goals and made 4 assists, leading to praise from L’Equipe reporter Bertrand Latour, who dubbed him “a scoring machine.”
In this time, the former France U21 international outperformed his expected goals by 1.7 and had a goal per shot-on-target ratio of 0.43, as per FBref. This shows that even though the striker isn’t part of Laurent Blanc’s plans going into the future, his quality is still there.
If the Toffees can stay in the Premier League for the coming season, there is an opportunity for both parties to benefit from the deal.
Sean Dyche’s striking woes at Goodison Park may be fixed by Dembele, who would sign on a free transfer thus ensuring that the club do not get into more trouble with financial fair play (FFP).
For the 26-year-old, a transfer out of France may reignite his career to where he was predicted to be.