Football
Exclusive: Everton Plot £50m Swoop for Nicolas Jackson to Partner Iliman Ndiaye in Attack
Everton are eager to boost their strikeforce by pairing Iliman Ndiaye with Senegalese teammate Nicolas Jackson. With interest from other clubs, Everton may enter a £50m race to secure Jackson's services, in a bid to strengthen their attack for future seasons.
Sunderland v Everton - Premier League by Stu Forster | Getty Images
Everton want to turbocharge their attack by pairing Iliman Ndiaye with his international team mate Nicolas Jackson and establish an all Senegalese frontline.
The pair have both been instrumental in helping the Africans qualify for next year’s World Cup after cementing their places in Pape Thiaw’s hugely talented squad.
And that has alerted David Moyes, The Toffees’ manager, to the possibility of resurrecting the duo’s partnership at Premier League level by luring Jackson to Merseyside over the summer.
Ndiaye, previously of Sheffield United and Marseille, has been the stand-out player of Everton’s season so far, eclipsing even Jack Grealish following his loan switch from Manchester City.
JACKSON'S FUTURE
Jackson left his parent club, Chelsea, on a temporary deal earlier this term.
But Bayern Munich, who paid a reported £16.5m to process the deal, are unlikely to make it permanent when the 24-year-old’s loan expires.
With Enzo Maresca’s employers making it plain Jackson has no long-term future at Stamford Bridge, the striker’s representatives have already begun sounding-out potential buyers.
THREE-HORSE RACE
As SportsBoom exclusively revealed earlier this term, Aston Villa and Newcastle are both monitoring Jackson’s situation closely. However, Everton are also minded to enter the race if Chelsea lower their asking price to around £50m.
With Jackson not turning 25 until June, The Toffees’ owners, The Friedkin Group would not baulk at lavishing such a significant sum on someone capable of spearheading their charge for honours for seasons to come.
Ndiaye, 15 months older than his compatriot, has also seen his value grow since returning to England from France.
The former Blades protegee has netted five goals in his last 15 appearances, four of which have come in the top-flight.
He is the only player at Moyes’ disposal to score more than once during the present campaign, a situation the Scot knows he must address in order to put Everton in the European conversation.
Jackson has also found the back of the net on five occasions. But more than half of his outings for the Germans have come from the bench, meaning he looks destined to leave the Allianz Arena when the Bundesliga campaign draws to a close.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.