Everton has been linked with a potential summer signing for Serbian international striker Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus.
Everton have been linked with a move for €70 million striker Dusan Vlahovic, but what can the Serbian international contribute to the Blues? GiveMeSport reports that insiders have told them that the Blues are one of the clubs considering swooping for the 25-year-old, who might be made available by Juventus only two-and-a-half years after they spent about £67 million for his services.
According to the article, Everton has previously considered a move to sign Vlahovic, and his new asking price may entice interested parties to return to the table, as Juventus is expected to demand as little as £25 million to allow him to leave, despite setting an initial asking price of £35.
The piece adds that Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose current contract expires this summer, could be leaving. Everton’s need for a striker this summer is likely to be enormous, since Beto has struggled for consistency, Youssef Chermiti is still young and could benefit from a loan, and Armando Broja has suffered a long-term injury, making his agreement unlikely to be permanent.
Breaking the 20-goal barrier in back-to-back seasons with Fiorentina – the latter total was achieved in just half a campaign – convinced the 36-times Italian champions to make their big money move and although his goal return for La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady) has been a credible 55 in 136 outings, including 14 so far this term, having not reached his previous heights in Tuscany, his time with Juve could be coming to a close this summer.
According to Comparisonator’s Artificial Intelligence Team Finder, Vlahovic is a better match at centre-forward than the present incumbents at seven Premier League clubs: Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Southampton, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 25-year-old has an A.I. Suitability Weight of 210.24, which is slightly higher than Calvert-Lewin’s 210.17. Beto is farther behind on 187.38, with Reds star Darwin Nunez on 160.4 for comparison. The Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool also allows us to compare Vlahovic’s Serie A statistics this season to those of Premier League players in the same position.
An expected goals (xG) score of 0.49 would place him fifth behind Erling Haaland of Manchester City (0.7); Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea (0.58); Alexander Isak of Newcastle United (0.56); and Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa (0.5). Vlahovic would also make the top 10 (ninth) for opportunities per 90 minutes at 1.95 behind leader Haaland on 3.07 but perhaps tellingly, he drops to 21st for opportunities converted (0.23) in a category also topped by the Norwegian on 0.7.
In comparison to current Everton strikers, Vlahovic averages 2.5 shots per 90 minutes, compared to Calvert-Lewin’s 1.77 and Beto’s 1.4, and he averages one on target, compared to Calvert-Lewin’s 0.77 and Beto’s 0.88. His successful dribbling figure of 0.55 is the same as Calvert-Lewin’s, whereas Beto’s is 0.4.
Vlahovic’s progressive runs (0.68) are lower than Calvert-Lewin’s (1.05) but slightly higher than Beto’s (0.65), and while he distributes the ball more frequently with 8.86 successful passes compared to Calvert-Lewin’s 7.18 and Beto’s 3.8, his 0.5 successful passes in the final third is only marginally better than Beto’s 0.3 and falls behind Calvert-Lewin’s 0.64.
Despite leading Everton to nine top-eight finishes, including a best-ever Premier League position of fourth in 2004/05, David Moyes struggled to solve the centre-forward problem during his first season at Goodison Park, despite breaking the club transfer record three times to sign James Beattie (£6 million in 2005), Andrew Johnson (£8.6 million in 2006), and Ayegbeni Yakubu (£11.25 million in 2007).
The Blues are likely to want to make a statement signing as they move into their new 52,888 capacity stadium and while Vlahovic would fit the bill in terms of being high profile, with increased financial backing from The Friedkin Group, the Scot must decide whether the Serie A player is the kind of marquee acquisition to increase levels and worthy of a fresh start, or something of damaged goods following his spell in Piedmont.
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