Father of £15m Everton target gives 28-word update on transfer talk

Everton are pushing hard to sign Sporting forward Youssef Chermiti and his father has spoken out on the official approach from the club today.

Sean Dyche is recently claimed the club are pushing hard to for deals in a ‘tough market’ and news of a bid being accepted yesterday for the 19-year-old was a clear indication of their intentions.

With goals being a real issue for his side, the club are looking to bolster their frontline after signing Arnaut Danjuma on loan from Villarreal - and the Portuguese youth international is a key target.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that the two clubs had a verbal agreement for his signing, with a fee of around £12m, plus £3.5m add-ons being reported by Sky Sports News, who also state Sporting will keep 20% of any sell-on-fee in the future. Reports are also circulating of a medical to be completed in the coming days as well.

In terms of the message from Chermiti’s father, it was relayed by Fabrizio Romano on social media, as he confirmed Everton’s interest and official approach for the striker: “Yes, we were informed that Sporting agreed a deal in principle to transfer Youssef. Now, we will calmly analyze the proposal that Everton has just presented to us”

Having previously been chased by Premier League duo Wolves and Bournemouth, it would be a real coup for the Toffees. Especially given he was one of the best young stars to break through in the Portuguese league last season.

Breaking through from the Sporting academy into the first-team last season, he managed five goal contributions in 16 games.

He has also scored three goals in just four caps for Portugal’s Under-19s side and previously netted six in 12 for the Under-18s, and a future call-up to senior international side could be on the cards in the future.

What was most impressive last season is that he managed to take game time away from their main forward Paulinho from January onwards. The senior figure netted 15 goals and 12 assists across all competitions last campaign and Chermiti was brought in to offer a more physical and dynamic threat for Ruben Amorim’s side and started nine games in the league as a result.