According to reports in the Daily Mail, Everton could more than double their money on summer addition Henry Onyekuru despite the fact that he is yet to kick a ball for the club.
The Toffees won the race to sign the Nigeria international in a £7m deal from KAS Eupen in June, but they immediately loaned him out to Belgian side Anderlecht as he didn’t qualify for a work permit to play in England.
However, the Daily Mail says that the 20-year-old is already rated at around the £15m mark following some impressive performances this term, with European giants Juventus and Atletico Madrid among the teams interested in the winger.
While Juve are keen having lost out to Monaco in the race to sign Keita Balde Diao in the summer, Atletico believe that the attacker could be the ideal long-term replacement for Fernando Torres.
The Daily Mail suggests the chance to take the money and reinvest elsewhere in the squad may be tempting for the Toffees, but it would be the wrong decision.
Here are three reasons Everton must keep hold of the in demand Onyekuru…
Goalscoring record
One of the reasons Everton wanted to snap the 20-year-old during the summer was because of his outstanding record with KAS Eupen – he ended the 2016/17 campaign with 24 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions, with the majority of those outings coming from the left wing.
However, if the Toffees were worried that he may be a flash in the pan or a one-season wonder, the Nigeria international has certainly shown that isn’t the case with Anderlecht already this term.
Despite the fact that he is playing for a team that is competing in the Champions League with bigger expectations, the forward has netted seven goals in 15 appearances in total.
Pace/Width
One of Everton’s biggest problems this season and the reason they lie 18th in the Premier League table and have taken just one point from the nine available in the group stages of the Europa League is because they have largely been toothless in attack.
It certainly didn’t help thatRonald Koeman sometimes chose to play the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen out wide when their preferred position is definitely through the middle, and the Toffees look to need all of the wide players they can get right now.
The fact that Onyekuru gave Paris Saint-Germain’s Dani Alves a torrid time with his pace and trickery in the recent Champions League clash between them and Anderlecht suggests that he is ready to make an impression in the English top flight.
Potential
When Steve Walsh left Leicester City to take up the position of director of football at Everton in 2016, one of his targets would have been to bring some of the best young talent across Europe to Goodison Park – beating off competition from other clubs in the process – and he did that with Onyekuru during the summer.
The 20-year-old looks to have huge potential and has many years to progress and develop before he reaches his peak, and it would be a huge mistake to cash in on him now and sell him one of European football’s heavyweights rather than giving him a chance in the first team – should he receive his work permit.
Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.
