Everton’s stunning first January transfer could be a shock deal for £17m lethal striker

Everton have been among the Premier League’s quieter teams so far this transfer window, which isn’t a significant surprise. This is a club which is still working its way through the PSR implications of the Moshiri years and whose league position provides little reason to take big swings – but that may not stop them from swinging altogether.

According to Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Everton are “exploring” a deal for Fenerbahçe and Morocco striker Youssef En-Nesyri, with “concrete talks” allegedly underway already. It would be a surprising move from both sides – but would it be the right one for Everton?

Would Youssef En-Nesyri be the right signing for Everton this January?

News that En-Nesyri could leave Istanbul comes as something of a surprise given that he has been prolific for much of his relatively brief spell in the Turkish Super Lig – after scoring 26 goals in his first season with Fenerbahçe, he already has seven in the current campaign despite missing several matches due to the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 28-year-old’s impressive debut year also followed two equally free-scoring years in Spain with Sevilla – indeed, leaving aside a disappointing 2021/22 season, En-Nesyri has been among Europe’s most reliable goalscorers for several years, with a total of exactly 100 club goals since the start of the 2020/21 season.

In short, he isn’t the sort of forward that clubs usually move on from willingly, but Plettenberg claims that Fenerbahçe are “open” to letting the Moroccan leave regardless. A recent dry patch may explain that – En-Nesyri has scored in just two of his last 16 club games and hasn’t hit the back of the net in any of his five substitute appearances at AFCON thus far – but it’s still unusual to see a striker which such an impressive record in front of goal being shopped around.

It's also relatively rare for a club of Everton’s stature to get the chance to sign a proven top-level goalscorer during what should be his prime years – not that En-Nesyri doesn’t have his downsides.

He has always been a very limited striker, whose passing, technique and ball control are undeniably subpar for the highest levels of the game, and whose balance under close attention from defenders is suspect. En-Nesyri is a forward who can’t be expected to create chances or contribute to the build-up, but who needs to have opportunities generated for him.

The upside, however, is that he is simply a superb finisher, a forward who knows one big trick instead of several smaller ones. As long as you can supply him, he will score goals and has proven that with impressive consistency over a long period – the last couple of months notwithstanding. In that context, one can perhaps understand why Fenerbahçe might be a little spooked by a poor run of form.

From Everton’s perspective, however, there is no real reason to think that his fallow run will continue forever, and he bounced back from his only other bad year in 2021/22 with ease and a flurry of goals in La Liga. There’s every reason to take a chance on a historically prolific forward, especially given that number nine has been something of a problem position for a little while now. But how likely is it that such a deal takes place?

Will Everton sign En-Nesyri in the winter transfer window?

Plettenberg’s story has since been backed up by Fabrizio Romano, who adds a potential transfer fee into the mix - €20m (£17.3m) after an initial six-month loan deal. With corroboration now supporting the initial report and details beginning to emerge, it certainly seems as though this is a deal that could take place soon enough.

An initial loan deal makes perfect sense given Everton’s relatively weak PSR position, an unfortunate legacy of the previous ownership. The profit and sustainability rules will be phased out before next season, but Everton still have to abide by them for now unless they want to endure yet another points deduction. Pushing the payments back until the summer makes this a deal that would suit the Toffees far more than alternative signings might.

Still, it only makes sense from the selling club’s perspective when you consider the rate of change taking place in their squad right now. Fenerbahçe have always been a team who buy and sell players at a faster pace than most, moving on to the next bright idea at speed – and they may well need funds to finish up another busy transfer window.

They are set to complete the signing of former Chelsea and Leicester City legend N’Golo Kanté imminently, and that will follow a big-money deal for ex-Arsenal midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi, who has just signed from Lazio. Less than halfway through the transfer window, Kanté will already be their fourth signing, and they have a number of players on very substantial salaries.

This is a club who are always looking for opportunities to sell players for a quick profit but have also made a net loss of around £100m on transfers over the past two seasons. En-Nesyri’s recent form could be all the excuse they need to cut bait, get some cash back and move on quickly before his value declines.

It doesn’t help any assessment of the likely accuracy of Plettenberg’s story that En-Nesyri is still on international duty with AFCON 2025’s host nation, who face Nigeria in the semi-finals on Wednesday evening. It’s unlikely that negotiations can move past the early phases until the forward, who has been a second-half substitute in every one of his country’s games so far, is back in Turkey.

Still, this story seems to be entirely believable, even if it’s too early to know just what the odds of a transfer taking place are just yet – but Everton are getting a relatively rare opportunity this January. Whether En-Nesyri does make the move and can subsequently rediscover his impressive scoring form, of course, remains to be seen.