Marco Silva has yet to make his first venture into the transfer market this summer, but with speculation beginning to intensify regarding a handful of potential targets, it seems an influx of new players could be looming on the horizon.
Whilst Manuel Pellegrini has been busy revamping the West Ham squad with a multitude of big-money signings, Silva has been biding his time in the transfer market before splashing the cash. Whether Silva has a significant level of funding to put towards the acquisition of new players remains to be seen, as Everton embarked on a spending spree of their own last season.
Much to the dismay of the Everton supporters, the new signings failed to produce the standard of aesthetically pleasing football they were craving, but Silva’s influence at the club could serve to change that.
Everton were consistently blunt and toothless in the final-third as Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggled at the spearhead of the attack during the first-half of the season.
The arrival of Cenk Tosun took the pressure off the England youth international and provided the club with a natural goalscorer who impressed in his opening few months without taking the league by storm.
But the early signs of Tosun’s form are certainly positive for the club, and with the right players around him he could certainly blossom into a 15-goal per season Premier League striker.
Silva will need to dip into the transfer market to sign at least two new attacking wide players in order to make that happen, especially now that Yannick Bolasie seems destined to depart for Fenerbahce on a season-long loan deal.
With that in mind, here’s what Everton’s front-three could look like next season if Silva is successful in the transfer market…
Theo Walcott only arrived at Goodison Park in January, but a recent report from talkSPORT suggests that he could be replaced on the right-side of Everton’s attacking front-three next season.
The report claims that Everton are interested in signing the former Manchester United employee, namely Adnan Januzaj this summer.
Unlike Walcott, Januzaj is a left-footed playmaker who prefers to cut in from the right onto his favoured boot, and his ability to carefully craft an opportunity with his quick-witted vision could help Everton to create plenty of clear-cut chances next season.
At just 23-years-of-age Januzaj has plenty of room for improvement, and under a manager who values technical quality, such as Silva, he would be well-placed to reach his potential.
The same report from talkSPORT is backing one of the most widely-documented rumours of the window so far: Richarlison to Everton.
Whilst working under Silva, Richarlison got his Premier League career off to a flying start but his manager’s departure resulted in a signficant downturn in form for the Brazilian.
But the potential he demonstrated in the early stages of his Watford career suggested that he can become a huge talent in the English top-flight within the right system.
Richarlison (valued at £22.5 million by Transfermarkt) can turn defenders inside and out with his direct style of dribbling and, although his end-product is in need of improvement, he could eventually become a genuine fan-favourite at Goodison Park.
Based on the quality of his performances since arriving from Besiktas, there is absolutely no reason why Silva should drop Tosun next season.
Plenty of sceptics tipped Tosun to flop following in the Premier League, but he demonstrated his class at the spearhead of Everton’s attack with his fine hold up play and desire to get in the penalty area at every opportunity.
5 goals from 14 appearances last season was a decent return considering Everton were relatively toothless in attack but, with Silva at the helm and players of Richarlison’s and Januzaj’s quality either side of him, he would be set for a much more successful goal-scoring season.
