According to the Daily Mail, Everton are keen on Callum Wilson and may have to battle Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Crystal Palace to procure his signature. Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League and are resigned to losing their best players, but they won’t let Wilson go for cheap.
What would he bring to our squad?
Wilson is a prolific striker who could take the scoring burden off Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin if signed. The 28-year-old is able to lead the line, hold up the ball and bring others into the attack, but he’s ineffective in the air and would benefit from joining a ball-playing side.
He’s made 187 appearances in all competitions since joining Bournemouth from Coventry City in 2014, scoring 67 goals with 30 assists. Wilson bagged 21 goals from 37 League One games in his last season at Coventry (2013/14), netted 20 goals from 45 Championship games in his debut campaign at Bournemouth (2014/15) and had a hand in 57 goals from 126 Premier League games (2015-2020).
Last season, the England international made 35 Premier League appearances, scored eight goals, made one assist, created 28 chances, made 24/45 successful dribbles, won 65/213 aerial duels, had 55 shots with 38% hitting the target, made clearances, won 40 free-kicks and made 12 tackles, as per WhoScored.
How much will Wilson cost?
The Daily Mail say Wilson will cost £30m while Spotrac say the 28-year-old earns £60k-per-week/£3.12m-a-year. Whether we’re willing to spend so much money to lure him away from Dean Court remains to be seen, but he wouldn’t be a bad option in attack.
Carlo Ancelotti has Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Moise Kean at his disposal but may need more depth if we’re to challenge for a top-six finish next season. In addition to Wilson, we’ve been linked with Odsonne Edouard, Patrik Schick, Hee-chan Hwang, Hirving Lozano, Martin Braithwaite, Andrea Belotti, Sardar Azmoun and Victor Osimhen among others, so we’ve got many irons in the fire.
Wilson would surely jump at the chance to sign for Everton, but he wouldn’t be a regular. Whether he’d prefer more opportunities at a club like West Ham or Palace is unknown. Whether he’d be more tempted to join a bigger side like Tottenham also remains to be seen.