Everton’s failure to target a striker in the summer has haunted Marco Silva at times this season, but the Toffees are now being linked with Jean-Kevin Augustin by Calciomercato.
The Italian football news site are suggesting that the RB Leipzig man is considered our first choice summer target, but Marcel Brands will have to negotiate hard with the Bundesliga side as the Frenchman’s contract runs until 2022.
Leipzig are also on the cusp of losing Timo Werner to Bayern Munich as the striker seeks a new venture for next season, which would be the final year of his deal at the Red Bull Arena.
If they were to lose the German forward, our chances of then landing Augustin would be set back tenfold, although our pursuit of the 21-year-old is banking on potential over proven talent, anyway.
Unlike Werner, Augustin is not a clinical goal scorer or creator, and has only contributed to six goals (all scored) in all competitions this season. The France U21 international is not a regular on the pitch, either, as he has started just three games in the German top-tier this campaign.
Despite all that, the Paris Saint-Germain product is still valued by TransferMarkt at £22.5million as he does possess a lot of potential, even if that is not what we really need right now.
If we are to get back into European contention, we need to be targeting proven products now, and add that final missing part of the puzzle to our offence that currently boasts great creative midfielders like Bernard and Gylfi Sigurdsson – when on form – and have a direct threat on the break with Richarlison.
The trio cannot, however, be relied upon to carry an emerging talent to the desired Premier League places, and that was shown in the Merseyside Derby with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who offers a very similar skill set to that of Augustin.