Everton have opted against pursuing a deal for Southampton winger Kamaldeen Sulemana.
As reported by The Athletic’s transfer deadline day live blog (01/09/2023, 18:00), Kamaldeen Sulemana is set to remain at Southampton despite earlier interest in his signature from Everton.
Everton were weighing up a move for Sulemana, but were unwilling to meet the player’s £30 million release clause. With the Saints refusing to lower their demands, the clubs reached an impasse and the Toffees gave up the chase.
The 21-year-old has attracted plenty of attention this summer, but as things stand he is destined to spend the season with Southampton in the second tier of English football. In which case, the south coast club will be looking to Sulemana to play a key role in their expected promotion push.
The Saints paid £22 million to prise Sulemana away from Rennes. However, the Ghanaian failed to hit the ground running in the Premier League. He would manage just two goals in 18 outings as Southampton succumbed to the drop.
Everton dodge Sulemana bullet
Spending £30 million this summer on Sulemana would have been an incredibly risky move for Everton to make. Sean Dyche was wise to resist the temptation. There simply isn’t enough evidence to suggest that the 18-cap Ghana international has what it takes to shine consistently at Premier League level.
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Sulemana is fast and skilful. There is no doubting his talent. Coach Didi Dramani has previously described the forward as being “very dynamic in his movement [and] very unpredictable…in space, he is basically unstoppable in one-on-one situations,” as quoted by Sky Sports.
However, the player’s lack of end product is an issue. It is also a huge problem for Everton themselves, who failed to score a single goal in their first three Premier League matches of this season. Sulemana doesn’t appear to be the solution to the Toffees’ goal scoring woes, but may well have turned out to be a very expensive misstep.