Youssef En-Nesyri looks to be showing Everton what they’re missing after a fine start at Al-Ittihad.
En-Nesyri was heavily linked with Everton in January, as the Toffees looked at new striker options for the second half of the season.
There had been a lot of criticism of Thierno Barry and Beto for their lack of output, and it is thought a new striker has been on the agenda for a while.
Winter window now shut, what striker do you want signed in the summer for Everton? 💥
No excuses can be made when the window opens again 😫
Everton reportedly made a proposal to sign En-Nesyri, but nothing came of the pursuit in the end.
Shortly after that claim, there were reports that En-Nesyri had reservations about the UK climate, which perhaps goes some way to explaining the move he did end up making.
After the UK window closed, En-Nesyri completed a move to Saudi club Al-Ittihad – and he’s made a fine start.
Everton January target Youssef En-Nesyri looks clinical for Al-Ittihad
En-Nesyri has made five appearances so far since moving to the Saudi Pro League.
And he probably couldn’t have asked for a much better start, having made an impact in most of those games so far.
The Morocco international has hit three goals, which came in the space of a week against Al-Gharafa (AFC), Al-Fayha (league) and Al-Sadd (AFC). En-Nesyri also picked up an assist in that game against Al-Gharafa.
Against Al-Sadd, as well as producing an ice-cold finish in a one-vs-one situation, the star almost scored a stunning solo goal after picking the ball up inside his own half.
Not primarily known for his dribbling, En-Nesyri slalomed his way to the box before pushing his effort just wide under pressure from a sliding defender.
Overall, the consensus is that En-Nesyri has made a very bright start, and looks to be a solid replacement for Karim Benzema, who left to join Al-Hilal.
Meanwhile Everton lack bite up front
Of course, many will say that the standard of the Saudi Pro League does not really hold a candle to any of the big European leagues.
But nevertheless, this is still an impressive start from En-Nesyri and one wonders if there is some disappointment in the Everton recruitment department.
En-Nesyri is a player Moyes has admired for a while, and he may well have been a good signing given his goal record, which reads as 134 goals in 374 club games to date.
Meanwhile, Barry and Beto continue to draw criticism with their output.
Barry did recently go on a scoring run, but has not netted for three games now. Beto also scored recently, but that was just one of three Premier League strikes so far.
Perhaps En-Nesyri’s stance made it difficult for Everton to get a deal done in January. But regardless, it already looks a bit of a shame he didn’t come.
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