According to reports in the Daily Mail, Brighton and Hove Albion are ready to launch a £20m January bid for Celtic striker Moussa Dembele.
The Daily Mail says that Seagulls manager Chris Hughton wants to add some pace to his frontline in the New Year, and he is willing to test the water with a £20m offer for the Frenchman, who is rated at around £30m by the Scottish Premiership giants.
Even though the 21-year-old has suffered a recurrence of a hamstring problem he had last season, he has still been in good goalscoring form for the Bhoys, following on from his impressive campaign last time out.
Meanwhile, successive Premier League wins have pulled Everton away from the relegation zone and new boss Sam Allardyce will already be beginning to identify new signings he could make in the upcoming transfer window.
The former England manager may want to strengthen his side’s attacking options, and bringing the France U21 international to Goodison Park could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Everton must hijack Brighton’s bid to sign Dembele…
They haven’t signed a Lukaku replacement
While Everton brought in a number of new players during the summer transfer window, they didn’t sign a direct Romelu Lukaku replacement and they have probably paid for that failure in the opening months of the campaign.
The struggles of Sandro Ramirez have meant that Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse have shared the striker role in recent weeks, and Allardyce would probably prefer to have another centre-forward starting in the position.
Considering his goalscoring exploits with Fulham and Celtic already in his career, Dembele could be the perfect long-term successor to Lukaku.
His goal record
Even though the 21-year-old has missed a huge chunk of the season, he has still netted eight goals in 16 appearances in all competitions for Celtic, including one in the 7-1 defeat against against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League at the Parc Des Princes last month.
The striker has 40 goals in 65 outings for the Bhoys in total, and he has proven that he is an effective centre-forward who has the ability to perform in the Premier League.
With seven goals in 10 caps for the France U21s, Dembele may also have a chance of being named in the senior squad for the 2018 World Cup – although he has plenty of competition for a spot.
Potential
At 21 years of age and with 59 career goals to his name, there is no doubt that Dembele looks to have a huge future ahead of him.
The France U21 international will likely make it with the senior squad sooner rather than later, while he is showing just how prolific he can be as a centre-forward in club football.
With plenty of pace and good dribbling ability, Everton could be getting themselves something of bargain if they can sign him for less than £30m in the New Year.
Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.
