£26m Everton ace now a top target for Italian club, could lead to swap deal
Everton have already signed a striker this season in Iliman Ndiaye but they have now been offered another forward in a swap deal.
The Toffees have been busy in the transfer market, reinvesting the £50million earned from Amadou Onana’s move to Aston Villa.
Everton re-signed Jack Harrison on loan and added Jesper Lindstrom, Tim Iroegbunam, Ndiaye and Jake O’Brien to their squad.
O’Brien has already hit the ground running in Everton colours after scoring in successive pre-season games despite playing at centre-back.
The Toffees have already spent more money this summer compared to last, when their headline signing was the £26million arrival of Beto from Sporting Lisbon.
The Portuguese forward struggled during his debut season, scoring just three goals in the Premier League.
Everton offered striker swap deal
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ndiaye ready to lead the line for Everton, Beto faces plenty of competition for his spot in Sean Dyche’s side.
According to Italian outlet Gazzetta, Beto is now a top target for Atalanta after first-choice striker Gianluca Scamacca suffered a serious knee injury.
The former West Ham forward has ruptured his ACL and is expected to miss a large part of the upcoming 2024-25 season.
Atalanta are keen to bring Beto back to Serie A after he impressed at Udinese.
The report suggests that Atalanta will propose a swap deal for Beto that includes El Bilal Toure, a 22-year-old striker who scored three times in 17 appearances last season.
Everton previously showed interest in signing Toure and even had a £23 million bid accepted for him before he decided to join Atalanta instead.
Atalanta paid around £25million (30million Euros) for Toure last summer, suggesting that any swap deal between the two strikers would not include extra cash.
Beto has played a large part in Everton’s pre-season preparation, including two goals in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Motherwell.
Dyche and Everton’s transfer team now have to weigh up whether Toure is a better long-term investment than Beto.
