Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Cenk Tosun. Sandro Ramirez. Wayne Rooney. Oumar Niasse. Just some of the names we’ve had since Romelu Lukaku left Goodison Park back in the summer of 2017.
Apart from Calvert-Lewin, none of the others we’ve trialed up front have really worked out or staked a claim to be the heir to our former Belgian striker’s throne. But if reports are to be believed, we could be in for Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, and if a deal can get done, we could finally have someone ready to make their mark as our starting number nine.
The big Serbian centre-forward was one of the Cottagers’ bright lights this season as they got relegated straight back down. The 24-year-old reached double figures in the Premier League in what quite frankly was a below-average team at best. The Londoners were even reluctant to play to his strengths, instead choosing to keep the ball on the deck and take their possession-based game from the Championship up to the top-flight. So for him to score 11 goals was quite a fine achievement, and a sign of things to come.
With his all-action and hustle-and-bustle style of play, he’d be the perfect fit for us at Everton. Goodison Park will love his commitment to the cause, and playing under a manager like Marco Silva who has shown he can get the best out of maverick players like Richarlison, Mitrovic will feel right at home. The striker has often been criticised for either playing on the edge or looking completely disinterested, but under Silva, we could see the kind of form and potential that made him one of the world’s brightest prospects whilst at Belgian side Anderlecht.
He may not have proven himself to be a 20/25 goal a season striker, but with the kind of goal threat we have from the wide areas and in the number 10 role with Gylfi Sigurdsson, Mitrovic scoring 15 times a season may be more than enough. In fact, a lot of why this potential signing would make sense is all the things he would bring away from goal-scoring. The sheer size and physical presence up top, an option for us to go back-to-front, and someone to hold the ball up in difficult games when we’re under pressure would bring something we haven’t had since Lukaku.
And with someone who has had years of experience in English football both with Newcastle and Fulham, there wouldn’t be any real question over Mitrovic would be able to adapt. At 24, he still has plenty of years left before he reaches his peak and has already shown that he relishes the responsibility of being a side’s starting striker. If Silva can coax the best out of him, then we could have the best striker outside of the Premier League’s top six on our hands.