Everton transfer target Brian Brobbey answers Sean Dyche plea but question marks remain
A statistical examination of Ajax striker Brian Brobbey who the ECHO understands is a player Everton have interest in
Brian Brobbey has emerged as an Everton transfer target but what might the Ajax striker offer the Blues?
Everton are eyeing a move for the Dutch Under-21 international as Sean Dyche looks to bolster his attacking options. The Blues netted a mere 34 goals in 38 Premier League games last season and in an exclusive interview with the ECHO from their training camp on the shores of Lake Geneva last week, first team coach Steve Stone admitted that the side has been suffering from the lack of a focal point up front.
Everton have been assessing a number of options with forward-thinking players their priority and the ECHO understands there is interest in trying to do a deal with Ajax for Brobbey as they close in on a move for his compatriot Arnaut Danjuma after missing out on the former Bournemouth player in January when Tottenham Hotspur hijacked his loan from Villarreal at the 11th hour.
Using Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool, we can correlate Brobbey’s statistics from the Eredivisie last season to see how he shapes up against strikers already plying their trade in the Premier League. Dyche has been eager to get his players into dangerous positions where they can hurt opponents more often, calling it "the bliss to miss", so he could be encouraged that Brobbey’s average of 7.26 touches in the box last season was more than any Premier League striker with Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez (6.65) and Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus (6.32) leading the way in the English top flight.
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When it comes to other offensive parameters, Brobbey’s goal average of 0.61 per 90 minutes (he netted 13 times in 32 Eredivisie games) would place him sixth among Premier League strikers, a category topped by Manchester City’s Erling Haaland who is the only player to average over one per game (1.08).
Only two strikers fare better than Brobbey in the expected goals (xG) column too with the Everton target on 0.65 alongside Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic while behind Haaland (0.84) and Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson (0.8).
The 21-year-old’s ability to test the opposition is also reflected by his high standing for total chances with an average of 2.99 per 90 minutes, a figure that just four Premier League strikers better: Nunez (3.84); Haaland (3.33); Wilson (3.19) and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford (3.12).
He also has the ability to play in team-mates given that his 0.82 successful key passes per 90 minutes is only topped by Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest (0.91) and Kelechi Iheanacho (0.88) a pair who have also been linked with moves to Goodison Park last year and this summer respectively.
Although at 5ft 11in, Brobbey does not possess the same level of towering stature as Everton’s current number nine Dominic Calvert-Lewin who stands three inches taller than him, his average of 1.96 attacking aerial challenges won would place him ninth in the Premier League, a section led by Bournemouth’s Kieffer Moore (4.83) ahead of Calvert-Lewin on 4.78. He would also creep into the top 10 for aerial duels won (2.21) but again this is a long way behind the likes of Moore (5.59) and Calvert-Lewin (5.36).
Since the ECHO chronicled Everton’s interest in Brobbey, subsequent reports from the Netherlands claim a transfer is not on the agenda for him this summer but Ajax are always willing to cash-in on their stars if the price is right. With funds understood to be tight for the Blues though, it remains to be seen whether they can push through a deal.
While the player, a product of the fabled Ajax youth system where he worked alongside former Everton player John Heitinga, offers significant promise, a previous transfer abroad didn’t work out when he failed to score in 14 Bundesliga matches for RB Leipzig in 2021/22. Also, despite Brobbey’s decent domestic goal return last term, he drew a blank in seven European games for the Amsterdam outfit in 2022/23.
Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.