Everton could certainly do with an upgrade in the striker department.
David Moyes was set to begin this season with Beto as his only option before £27m was spent to sign Thierno Barry from Villarreal in July.
While Beto has done well in 2026 so far with six goals and one assist in his last ten Premier League appearances, the Guinea-Bissau international only managed two goals in the first 23 outings, and has 12 months left on his contract at the end of this term.
Barry has netted only six goals in 33 Premier League games, but four of those came in a purple patch between the end of December and February.
A proper talisman – like Brentford have in Igor Thiago – could have made this season a lot more interesting for the Toffees, and The Friedkin Group could be about to rectify that after a rumour emerged about Michael Keane and Vitalii Mykolenko.
Thoughts on Barry’s cameo vs Liverpool? 😬
Everton look set to postpone defensive revamp and could focus on new striker
The Bobble – a reliable insider when it comes to Everton – has now claimed on X (previously known as Twitter) that Everton are set to trigger clauses to keep Keane and Mykolenko for an additional season.
Had Everton opted to release the duo, significant funds could have been spent on replacements, with Everton linked to Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly over at Arsenal. Even a deal for one of the pair would cost at least £30m.
However, the fact Everton look set to keep Mykolenko and Keane around suggests to us that the revamp of the backline will be shelved until next year, and most of the budget for this summer will be put towards a new striker – considering the goalkeeping department and central midfield are in decent shape already.
One potential arrival is Liam Delap – who Everton remain keen on despite a difficult debut campaign at Chelsea, scoring only twice in 37 appearances.
The Friedkin Group are also keeping an eye on Richarlison – along with another former Toffee in Romelu Lukaku, who Napoli are looking to sell this summer.
Who would you rather see Everton sign this summer? 🤩
With the savings made from keeping Mykolenko and Keane, we feel Everton could be about to break the bank to finally give Moyes a proper talisman up top.
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