Martin Keown has claimed that Beto could be Everton’s ‘saviour’ this season.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the former defender admitted that it could be Farhad Moshiri’s final signing that rescues the club from relegation.
Everton have been desperately searching for a new striker since Richarlison completed his move to Tottenham Hotspur last year, though they really have been without a proper No.9 since Romelu Lukaku left in 2017.
After failing with a bid for Southampton’s Che Adams, the Toffees landed Beto in a £25.75 million deal from Udinese in the final days of the transfer window.
The 25-year-old netted 21 goals across 61 appearances in Serie A and joins Everton as the big, strong striker they have been waiting for.
Beto kicked off his spell on Merseyside in brilliant fashion, scoring on his debut against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup. The forward then went onto start in their Premier League clash with Sheffield United and put on a promising display, despite failing to score.
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With only two games under his belt in England, Keown is convinced that he will be the difference between staying up and falling down to the Championship this season.
Farhad Moshiri’s final Everton signing could be his best – Keown
“I think his [Moshiri] intention was a good one. It’s like what we’re seeing at Chelsea at the moment – money doesn’t buy you success.
“They’ve had a succession of managers, they’ve brought in top players and it just hasn’t worked. But I actually think Beto might just rescue the club this season. He might be a saviour for them and it could be Moshiri’s last signing that ultimately turns out to be maybe one of the best ones.”
Moshiri has been at the helm for some extremely poor transfers at Goodison Park, welcoming the likes of Davy Klaassen, Cenk Tosun and Jean-Philippe Gbamin for around £75m.
However, a number of stars such as Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have enjoyed more success, while Everton will now be confident that they can add Beto to that list before Moshiri is gone for good.