Everton are in desperate need of reinforcements after becoming entangled in another Premier League relegation battle this season and now a new potential transfer target has been approached by the club.
What’s the latest on Everton’s interest in Ryan Kent?
According to TEAMtalk, Everton have held talks with Rangers winger Ryan Kent about signing him this smmer.
As per the report, the Toffees will need to compete with a number of clubs including Burnley, Sheffield United, Leeds United and Bournemouth who are all also keen to snap up the services of the Scottish Premiership’s free agent.
Why do Everton need Ryan Kent?
There is no doubt that improving and adding quality to the Everton forward line should be the highest priority for the powerbrokers at Goodison Park this summer.
Only Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored fewer Premier League goals (31) than the Toffees this season (33), which has been a testament to their poor performances in the final third and a heavy contributor to their struggles.
Indeed, the Merseysiders’ unstable situation in the top flight will spark two very different recruitment strategies this summer depending on their fate sealed on the final day, however, the opportunity to secure the services of Ryan Kent for free would be a great boost in bolstering their attacking threat no matter the outcome.
Over 29 league appearances, the £18k-per-week versatile forward – who was dubbed “sensational” by Steven Gerrard – has scored three goals, registered eight assists and created a whopping nine big chances.
On his day he is truly “unplayable” – as per Sky’s Andrew Dickson – having averaged 2.1 shots on goal, 2.2 key passes and 1.9 successful dribbles per game, proving he is a huge attacking presence for Rangers.
Not only that, Kent has proven he is capable of winning possession in dangerous areas of the pitch with 5.3 duels and 1.3 tackles won per match too, which is something that Everton have sorely missed since the departure of Anthony Gordon in the winter transfer window.
Indeed, the Newcastle winger proved himself to be a hard worker defensively during his days at Goodison Park, ranking in the best 1% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles per 90 minutes.
Whilst Dwight McNeil has been effective since the arrival of his former Burnley boss, notably scoring twice in the rout over Brighton, having that balance of quality on both sides of the centre-forward would be massively advantageous to Dyche in his pursuit to improve performances and consistency in front of goal.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Everton to secure the services of Kent on a free transfer this summer as he could completely transform their attacking threat next season and finally replace Gordon in the wider attacking positions.
