Everton in talks to sign “magnificent” £43m star

One cannot often learn much from pre-season results, but Everton’s need for reinforcements has certainly been crystallised.

On Saturday, the Toffees were demolished 3-0 by Bournemouth at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, outplayed and outclassed throughout.

Before travelling to the US, the Blues had also lost 1-0 to Blackburn Rovers and been held to a 1-1 draw by Accrington Stanley, which isn’t really generating excitement ahead of the grand opening of their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

Speaking to the Men in Blazers Podcast, manager David Moyes asserted that he needs “nine or ten” new players before the season begins, so are Everton about to secure the signature of a “magnificent prospect”?

Everton’s search for attacking quality

So far this summer, there’s been a bit of a clear-out at Everton.

Goodison stalwarts Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucouré are the most high-profile players to have departed, but Ashley Young, Mason Holgate, Asmir Begović, and João Virgínia have all also been released.

In their place, Mark Travers will be the new back-up goalkeeper, while centre-forward Thierno Barry has arrived from Villarreal for £27m, and is the service the 6 foot 5 in (196cm) striker will receive about to exponentially increase in quality?

Well, according to a report by Patrick Boyland and Matt Woosnam of the Athletic, Everton are “in talks” with Lyon as they seek to sign winger Malick Fofana.

Despite having been spared relegation to Ligue 2 following an appeal, Olympique Lyonnais are still in a huge amount of debt, so are currently in the midst of a fire sale; Rayan Cherki, Lucas Perri, Alexandre Lacazette and Thiago Almada are amongst those who’ve departed already.

With that in mind, Alan Myers claims that les Gones value Fofana, who has three years remaining on his contract, at around £43m including add-ons, amid talk that there is “strong interest” from the Toffees in the player.

So, could the 20-year-old soon swap Décines-Charpieu for Merseyside?

How Malick Fofana will improve Everton

Fofana began his career at Gent, scoring just five goals in 64 senior appearances for the Buffalos, but doing enough to capture the attention of Lyon, who signed him for around £15m as recently as January 2024.

Since making the move to France, his career has really taken off, bagging 15 goals and seven assists for les Gones, earning widespread praise.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels him a “magnificent winger prospect”, while Astorre S. Cerebróne of Breaking the Lines believes he has ‘huge potential’, impressed by his ‘technical qualities’ and ‘directness’.

Elsewhere, Fintan O’Reilly of Total Football Analysis agrees, highlighting his ‘strong attacking contributions’, concluding that, given Lyon’s financial turmoil, he would represent a massive bargain in the transfer market.

In terms of Everton, Iliman Ndiaye was their top-scorer last season with nine goals, while Beto was the only other player to bag more than four.

Like Fofana, the Senegalese international arrived from Ligue 1 just 12 months ago, joining from Olympique de Marseille for a reported fee of £16.9m.

If Fofana is equally as productive and impactful as Ndiaye, Evertonians would almost certainly be satisfied, so let’s assess how the two wide players compare to one another.

As the table outlines, in Ligue 1 and the Europa League, Fofana comes out on top for pretty much every metric included; Ndiaye boasted better figures in terms of shots per 90 as well as successful take-ons.

Nevertheless, Fofana’s numbers in terms of shots on target ratio, chances created and pure goals and assists are very eye-catching, underlining that his signing would represent a massive coup for Everton, one that they badly need with the start of the season fast approaching.

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