Marco Silva’s Everton are in the race to sign Burnley attacker, Dwight McNeil, along with a host of other Premier League clubs, according to TEAMtalk.
In an exclusive for TEAMtalk, the football news outlet revealed that the Toffees are in contention to attempt to make a January swoop for the left-sided attacker.
Alongside Silva’s side, vying for the 19-year-old’s signature is believed to be Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City and Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers (per TEAMtalk).
It’s believed that the youngster is rated in the £30m bracket.
Tough competition for the signature
It is without doubt that Silva’s Toffees side have found life more difficult than they would have imagined going into this Premier League season (per Daily Mail).
With expectations of possibly breaking into the division’s ‘big six’ looming over Goodison Park (per The Guardian), Silva has disappointed, sitting 17th and only three points above the drop zone (via BBC).
As such, with the club’s in more promising positions circling for McNeil – with Wolves in the Europa League and Leicester currently in the top four – it may prove difficult to tempt the 19-year-old to Goodison Park.
Tif Tactics – How does he compare to Everton’s current crop
In Everton’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening, Alex Iwobi occupied the wide left side of the Toffees’ attack (per Sky Sports).
This term, in the Premier League, the Burnley attacker has featured in 11 league outings – bagging one goal and three assists during those games – whereas Everton’s £27.36 million summer signing ranks worse, with only a goal and no assists in nine outings (per Transfermarkt).
Furthermore, when it comes to average ratings, the 19-year-old Burnely attacker also performs better.
McNeil has an average rating of 6.99/10 for Burnley this season and Iwobi has mustered a 6.69/10 across his nine Premier League outings (via Whoscored).
Therefore, compared to the man with a cost which can rise to £34 million, which it took to tempt him from London to Merseyside (via BBC), McNeil would rank as an upgrade based on their current form.