It has been nearly a week since Richarlison was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a reported £60M which leaves Frank Lampard with just, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Salomon Rondon as the club’s only senior strikers.
We do have Ellis Simms and Lewis Dobbin to call upon from the bench if needed, but if Calvert-Lewin was to get injured like he did last year, we will not have Richarlison to get us out of trouble, and I cannot see Rondon becoming Zlatan Ibrahimović overnight.
We are crying out for another striker, so here are a few that we have been linked with so far this summer;
Emmanuel Dennis – £20M
The most obvious replacement would be Emmanuel Dennis. The Nigerian forward had a fine season for Watford last season scoring 10 and assisting 6 times in a Watford side that finished second bottom. (Richarlison had 10 goals and 5 assists)
He was the stand-out player in Watford’s side last year and has attracted interest from a host of clubs including Everton. London Evening Standard has reported that Everton will have to pay around £20M for the forward who can play as the main striker and wide, similar to Richarlison.
Armando Broja – £30M
Similar to Dennis, last year was Broja’s full debut season in the Premier League where he was on loan at Southampton from Chelsea. The 6ft2 Albanian who turns 21 in September got 9 goals in all competitions for The Saints last year but unlike Dennis, is not as versatile. Due to his build, he is more Dominic Calvert-Lewin than Richarlison, and for a reported £30M [MSN] this would not be a smart move, especially for Everton who have real financial troubles.
Even with age on his side, a £30M fee for a player that would be back-up to Calvert-Lewin would not be the smartest.
El Bilal Touré – £20M
A relatively unknown player to most, Touré was apparently scouted extensively last year by Everton [90Min] and impressed when they watched the 20-year-old in action. Touré can play along the entire front line and behind the striker and at 20 years of age is exactly the type of player Everton and Lampard should be looking at to build for the future.
Everton aren’t the only club reportedly interested in the Reims player, with Dortmund, Sevilla, Monaco and Lyon all looking at the talented youngster with Reims apparently allowing the forward to leave for around £20M.
Andrea Belotti – free
Belotti is now without a club after seeing his contract expire at former club Torino. Since being named captained in 2017, the Italian striker played over 250 games, scoring 113 times his former club and has been linked with several clubs including Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton, but would prefer to stay in Italy according to the DailyMail. Like mentioned before, Everton need to be smart when it comes to recruiting this summer, working on free transfers and loan deals primarily, and Belotti on a free would definitely be a good move financially for Everton, however, like Broja, Belotti is more Calvert-Lewin than Richarlison.
Ellis Simms & Lewis Dobbin
The easiest choice for Lampard would to look to the youth. In Ellis Simms we have a striker ready for first-team football, the academy product has been on loan at Blackpool and Hearts in the last two seasons to get regular first-team football, scoring 17 in 49 in all competitions during both spells. At youth level, he does not seem to miss when playing for the U18/U23’s scoring 52 in 72.
Lewis Dobbin is similar to Simms at youth level, he has managed 20 in 51 games but ideally, a loan to a Championship/League 1 side would probably be better for the young forward as he needs regular first-team experience. [All stats via TransferMarkt]
Who would you like to replace Richarlison?
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