‘Next few days decisive’ as Everton look to seal deals for attacking duo targeted by Aston Villa and Marseille

It remains to be seen when, or if, Everton are going to make a move this summer; we’ve already seen Tom Davies, Conor Coady, Ruben Vinagre, Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Yerry Mina depart this summer, so surely there has been some additions soon right?

Well, not exactly. Reports of moves haven’t been extremely fruitful so far and there aren’t any concrete deals seemingly in the works. But a report from Calciomercato has put a time frame on when a potential move for Leeds forward Willy Gnonto could be completed. They claim that Everton are leading the race ahead of the likes of Aston Villa, Freiburg and whole host of clubs in Italy who are all bidding for the youngster’s signature.

His commitments with the Italian U21 side ended only recently, so he has only just began his summer break, therefore there will likely be some a short time before some movement. He would certainly be a key starter should he decide to move to Merseyside, which would certainly be a boost for Sean Dyche as their wing options are extremely limited.

Whilst that could be a deal that concludes soon, another which is less likely but certain holds some possibility is the interest from Everton for Sheffield United’s Iliman Ndiaye. However, their interest for the 23-year-old has been matched by the likes of Olympique Marseille.

Fabrizio Romano warned that there are ‘crucial days ahead’ but Marseille only want to sign him on their conditions, which mean if Everton are willing match Sheffield’s valuation, they could secure his signing. He also has just one year left on his current deal, so there is a clear dilemma there for the Senegal international. Romano also mentioned Everton have been keen on signing him “since April”, despite their rejected bid three months earlier during a frantic January window that eventually resulted in no additions.

Ndiaye has just helped to fire his side to the Premier League from the Championship and may feel a desire to embrace his first season in the top-flight with a side he earned it with, rather than jumping ship straight away. After all, 15 goals and 12 assists across 52 apperances are strong numbers. Most of these came in the league, as he scored just the one goal in six FA Cup games. That came in a famous 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

A forward who can play in any central position, his link-up play and creativity are almost as potent as his goalscoring ability and he could work with Dominic Calvert-Lewin or up on his own with two wingers for support.

Goals are sorely needed in this side and with today marking the beginning of their pre-season it is another reminder that they need to strengthen sooner rather than later to avoid hastily running out in the final days of the window, being linked with player after player to end up signing no-one.