Everton have seen their first bid for Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres rejected, according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo.
The Sky Blues hotshot has enjoyed a sensational 2022/23 campaign, notching 21 goals from 49 Championship games this season and attracting interest from a host of Premier League clubs including the Toffees and West Ham.
Gyokeres is also attracting interest from Portugal too with Sporting making him a top transfer target and according to O Jogo newspaper [20 June, page 13], manager Sean Dyche made an explicit request for Everton bosses to snap him up.
However, the newspaper [28 June, page 9] has now reported that Everton have seen their first bid for the forward rejected which means Sporting may now lead the race for his signature.
Everton desperately needed a goalscoring striker all of last season, having sold Richarlison to Tottenham for £60m last summer and boasted the second-worst record (34) in the division for goals scored.
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s struggles for fitness for much of the campaign and Neal Maupay’s failure to set Goodison Park alight since his move from Brighton last summer, the Blues will be prioritising a move for a quality number nine this summer.
And given the promising positions of the two other clubs interested in Gyokeres’ services this summer, it’s unlikely that Everton will win the race for the talented goalscorer.
However, the Toffees have certainly shown their ambition with this latest bid, and it remains to be seen whether they will return with another.
Dyche desperately needs a striker in before long, but whether Gyokeres has ambitions to play at Goodison Park is another matter entirely. Everton may be best served to turn their attentions elsewhere.
In Everton news, Alan Myers has shared a major update on Sean Dyche’s future after a development over his sacking has emerged over the past few days.
