Everton are in the market for prolific attacking players this summer after struggling to score consistently in the Premier League this season and now a new update has emerged on the club's pursuit of a potential transfer target.
What's the latest on Everton's interest in Moussa Dembele?
According to The Mirror [June 7th 2023 13:14 pm], the Toffees are one of the clubs interested in signing the out-of-contract Lyon striker Moussa Dembele this summer.
The report comes as Italian journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano revealed that Dembele has parted ways with the Ligue One club:
"Official: Moussa Dembélé leaves OL as free agent, confirmed. He’s set for new chapter this summer as many clubs are keen on signing him."
Would Moussa Dembele be a good signing for Everton?
There is no doubt that bolstering the forward line will be the highest priority at Goodison Park this summer and breaking the cycle of signing a centre-forward who can't offer important goal contributions throughout the campaign will be massively important for Sean Dyche.
Nobody in the entire Premier League scored fewer goals (34) than the Toffees this season, with Neal Maupay, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ellis Simms evidently failing to consistently perform when needed most, which ultimately led to a final-day relegation stand-off where they were spared relegation to the Championship by two points.
As a result, the signing of Dembele would be a great opportunity to add some experience to the forward line without running into further financial troubles during their efforts to improve the squad and would be a much better option than reported transfer target Wout Weghorst, who scored just twice in 31 games in all competitions while on loan at Manchester United.
Indeed, the 6-foot machine hasn't had his best season with three goals and one assist, but the 26-year-old has had limited game time over his 28 appearances in all competitions, averaging just 37 minutes per game.
Dembele has had a fantastic career so far playing at several clubs in Europe beyond his five-year spell in Ligue 1 – scoring 70 goals and registering 19 assists over 172 appearances – with stints at Fulham and Celtic where he earned high praise from former boss Brendan Rodgers following a clash with Sparta Prague in the Europa League:
"Moussa was everything with his power and pace. His opponent at centre-back was strong but Moussa is so powerful with ability, touch and work rate."
Not only is the Frenchman younger than the 30-year-old, Weghorst, but the £52k-per-week man is also far more impressive at using his stature to knock opponents off the ball and win the ball high to win possession in dangerous areas of the pitch – ranking in the top 24% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for aerial duels won, whilst the Man United loanee ranks in just the bottom 36% for that same metric.
With that being said, if Dembele can get back to his goal-scoring ways with consistent first-team football at Goodison Park it would be a major coup for Everton and could be the key component in competing more comfortably in the Premier League next season.
