Transfer expert makes Everton favourites to sign Sulemana

Transfer insider Alex Crook has claimed on TalkSport that Everton are favourites to sign Rennes winger Kamaldeen Sulemana.

The Lowdown: Everton looking to back Dyche

Despite it breaking last week that Everton were set to appoint Sean Dyche as their new manager, it took until Monday afternoon for that to come to fruition, which has left the new boss with very little time to be active in the transfer market.

However, Dyche and the Everton board are certainly not wasting any time, as they have £40m burning a hole in their pockets via the sale of Anthony Gordon – and were reportedly looking to spend that on Conor Gallagher.

That dream appears to have been a short-lived one, with Sky Sports reporting that Gallagher is not interested in swapping Chelsea for the relegation-threatened Toffees, although there is more positive news on the Sulemana front, according to Crook.

The Latest: Sulemana could arrive at Finch Farm

While speaking to Jim White and Simon Jordan on TalkSport, Crook revealed that Southampton were soon to drop out of the race for the Ghanaian, leaving Everton as the new frontrunners.

He said: “One player certainly on their radar is Kamaldeen Sulemana. He plays for Rennes over in France.

“Southampton had a bid rejected last week. I was getting the impression over the weekend that maybe Southampton were going to walk away from that deal anyway due to the asking price – looks like Everton [are] now favourites to sign him.”

The Verdict: Dyche needs attacking reinforcements

It’s quite a surprise that Dyche and Everton are looking to someone such as Sulemana to help their woes in the final third, as he has just one goal to his name in 20 appearances across all competitions.

As things stand, Everton have netted just 15 goals in the league, which is the second-least – only behind Wolves – so Dyche will have to start working on getting some belief into the players already at the club, as he can’t solely rely on new signings making the difference.

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It has been reported that Everton are indeed looking to strike up a deal with Rennes, with the Ligue 1 outfit looking for around €30m (£26m), which would still leave them money left over from the Gordon deal alone to bring in at least one more player – and that would appear to be better value for money instead of splashing all of it on one player in Chelsea’s Gallagher.