Everton completed their latest signing on Monday in the shape of Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie.
The DR Congo international has made the switch to Merseyside for a reported £25million fee as manager Ronald Koeman looks to rejuvenate his new side.
The last couple of years have been tough viewing for Toffees fans. They’ve seen their side fall well short of the European qualification places whilst teams they were once above, West Ham, Southampton and Leicester to name but a few, have all stolen a march on them in the league.
There is now renewed hope. With Koeman in charge the club have one of the most sought-after emerging managers and they also now have added financial backing to give them equal footing with those around them. The Bolasie deal shows they’re willing to splash the cash and the widely expected view is that there’s more to come.
Bolasie could just be the tip of the iceberg and here at FootballFanCast we think this FIVE could be at Goodison Park in the near future…
Lamine Kone
Kone hasn’t been in the Premier League long after joining Sunderland in the January transfer window last season but he has made a huge impact on both club and league.
The Black Cats performed a brilliant escape from the clutches of relegation and the Ivorian was a big part of that. He doesn’t get bullied by opposition players and he’s surely only going to get better as his Premier League experience grows.
Axel Witsel
Witsel was one of the first names on the Belgium team-sheet at EURO 2016 and that tells you all you need to know in what, despite their performances, is a very talented squad.
He’s well suited to Premier League football with his combative approach and would be the ideal replacement in central midfield for the aging Gareth Barry. Witsel is exactly the kind of player the Toffees should be aiming to sign.
Joe Hart
For the first time in a very long while at Manchester City, Joe Hart looks like he’s not going to be No.1.
Pep Guardiola opted for Willy Caballero between the sticks for their opening home win against Sunderland and that’s obviously going to suggest the Spaniard doesn’t fancy the England ‘keeper.
Everton, with their new money, would be silly not to try and prise him away – he’s still a very good goalkeeper.
Islam Slimani
Everton obviously want to be building for the future as well as getting in players ready to perform now and Slimani would help the club into their new chapter.
The Sporting Lisbon man has Champions League experience as well as being part of a very talent Algeria squad that boasts the likes of Riyad Mahrez so if Everton could secure his signature, it’d be a pretty significant move.
Hakim Ziyech
The FC Twente winger is similar to Slimani. Both nimble up front, both like to play out wide and both have huge bags of potential.
The fact that Ziyech plays for a club that isn’t as big as Sporting Lisbon may also work in Everton’s favour in the sense that any potential deal for him would cost the Toffees less than one for Slimani.
They’ll have to work fast, however, as the likes of Dortmund are rumoured to be interested in his services.
