Everton sent chief scout Martyn Glover on a transfer mission to watch Lille forward Nicolas Pepe as they look at launching a potential swoops, according to the Sunday Mirror.
The print edition of the newspaper (Sunday, 30 September, P65) claim that the Toffees have been impressed with the Ivory Coast international’s red hot form in France this season, with five goals and five assists in his eight appearances so far.
The report claims that Glover was sent out to watch over the 23-year-old last week, with Pepe able to play as both a right winger and a centre forward.
Good move for Everton?
The Toffees do already have quite an array of attacking options at their disposal but Pepe’s fine run of form makes it impossible to ignore the possibility of snapping him up this season.
Marco Silva might well be looking for someone to battle it out with Theo Walcott and the Ivory Coast man certainly fits the bill, bringing the same pace while having proven he has not only the ability to set his team mates up from out wide but also to score the goals himself.
Transferring that form to the Premier League is no easy task of course but he certainly seems like the sort of player who would thrive in England, and under Silva he could well be given the freedom to terrorise defences.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
The winter window is some way off yet and Everton are not really in desperate need of Pepe, even if they would like to sign him up.
It would be a real shock if the Toffees did sign him come January, with a move next summer much more likely – if he is still available that is.
His form will no doubt have caught the eyes of other sides and a battle might well push the Toffees out – or force them to spend more than they might have hoped.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10