Sean Dyche has admitted Youssef Chermiti is a signing for Everton’s future as he continues to scour the market for the players who can provide an immediate boost to the club’s attacking options.
Chermiti is on the verge of completing a £12.5 million move from Sporting Lisbon, with the 19-year-old forward undergoing a medical on Merseyside as Dyche closes in on his third deal of the summer.
A free transfer move for Ashley Young, and the loan arrival of Arnaut Danjuma, are the other additions as Everton seek to make overdue progress after fraught relegation battles over successive seasons.
The need for striking reinforcements was emphasised by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s fitness issues last term with Everton the second-lowest Premier League scorers behind Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Chermiti scored three goals in 22 appearances for the Portuguese club and Dyche knows the teenager may not be an immediate solution to deep-rooted scoring problems.
However, the financial constraints Everton are working under after years of lavish, but reckless, spending means trying to polish rough diamonds is one way they can build a brighter future.
“That is the truth of the moment in time,” Dyche said. “Would we look at that player if he was five years older and had 100 goals? Of course we would. Would we get that player? Probably not because he is too much money.
“There are other players we are looking for, and still interested in, who would be an older version and a more experienced version. But the market doesn’t just supply you with everything you need: right price at the perfect time. You also have to buy the ones you think can develop and improve in the mid or longer term. Just because he is young, I have no problem with playing him. I played Dwight McNeil at 18 in the Premier League and he never came out of the team for 100 games.
“So just to be clear, if he [Chermiti] shows what we think he can show and shows it quicker than we think then that is different. But at the minute he is more of a mid-term project. Get him in early, get him working with the first team group, get him the feel of what it is to be at Everton Football Club in the Premier League and develop him. If it comes quickly, absolutely fantastic. I am not worried about the age. It is more about his ability to play.”
Everton have had two bids turned down for the Leeds United winger Wilfried Gnonto. The first one valued the 19-year-old Italy international at £16 million. Leeds remain insistent, however, they will not sell the player, who did not feature in their squad for the Carabao Cup win over Shrewsbury Town.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker Hugo Ekitiké has also attracted interest, although it appears a sign of continuing dysfunction at Everton that work on a deal is taking place without the knowledge, or backing, of everyone.
