Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar - November 25, 2022. Senegal's Boulaye Dia celebrates scoring.
Everton target Boulaye Dia ‘doesn’t score enough goals’ to make the move to the Premier League, according to journalist Ed Aarons.
The Lowdown: World Cup standout
The Senegalese starlet has recently been at the World Cup having represented Aliou Cisse’s nation, where he grabbed one goal in four starts before getting knocked out in the last 16 by England.
The 26-year-old is currently out on loan at Salernitana from Villarreal but has been linked with a switch to Goodison Park once his spell ends, with a fee in the region of £17m required to secure his services.
The Latest: Aarons’ comments
Speaking to GiveMeSport, however, Aarons claimed that Dia hasn’t been prolific enough in the final third to prove himself as a centre-forward, regardless of other areas of his game being strong.
“Dia has been good at coming deep and linking the play a little bit more. He links it up well, he’s pretty strong.
“He’s a bit of a threat in front of goal but he doesn’t score enough goals. In his career he’s not scored enough, that’s one thing he can improve on. But his link-up play has been very impressive.”
The Verdict: Bit harsh?
Everton’s target has been dubbed a ‘handful’ for defenders by journalist Dean Jones, and looking at his numbers, claims that he’s not effective in the final third may be a little harsh.
The Oyonnax native already has eight contributions to his name this season (six goals and two assists) in just 14 appearances (Transfermarkt).
The Toffees have collectively only netted 11 times this campaign, which shows the significant impact Dia could have up top, so while he may not have the most prolific career record, he would surely be an upgrade on the struggling Neal Maupay.
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