OPINION
Everton boss Ronald Koeman would be able to resolve his centre-forward search by making a move for Atletico Madrid striker Luciano Vietto this summer with the Spanish side keen to sell.
Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo claimed that the 23-year-old is attracting interest from Valencia, Sampdoria, Marseille and Southampton.
The newspaper claims that the La Liga side are prepared to offload the youngster but they want to recoup the £18million which they paid for him two years ago.
However, it is said that Atletico would consider a loan deal for the forward should the teams interested in him fail to meet the asking price this summer.
The Argentine currently has three years remaining on his contract with the side from the Spanish capital.
Everton have already made acquired a number of attacking players this summer with Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez completing moves to Goodison Park.
Nevertheless, Koeman is reportedly still keen to sign a natural striker and Vietto would the perfect candidate to play through the middle and provide the Toffees with a much more potent attacking threat.
The youngster was sent out on a season long loan last season to Sevilla and he proved to be an important member of the first-team, contributing with 10 goals and five assists in all competitions.
Vietto’s performances helped Sevilla break into La Liga’s top four for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign and he could potentially have the same impact as Everton look to secure a spot in the Champions League next season.
Koeman has helped young talent develop at Goodison Park with the likes of Tom Davies and Dominic Calvert-Lewin coming through the ranks and he might be the perfect manager to bring the best out of Vietto.
The Argentine provides pace and he also has a knack of being in the right place at the right time, demonstrating his striker’s instinct with a large number of goals scored from inside the six-yard box.
The forward has already experienced Champions League and Europa League football in his short career and he could be crucial as the Toffees look to enjoy a successful run in Europe this season.
Vietto has already notched up goals against Barcelona and Real Madrid which shows that he would be able to pose problems for the top English sides and help Everton in their pursuit of a top-four finish.