Everton are interested in signing Adam Armstrong and sent scouts to watch the striker in Blackburn Rovers’ game against Bournemouth. He played the full 90 minutes but failed to find the back of the net as Bournemouth won 2-0 at Ewood Park.
Adam Armstrong, 24, has been one of Championship’s best players this season, registering 21 goals and three assists in 35 appearances for Blackburn Rovers. He passed the 50-goal mark for the Lancashire-based outfit with strikes against Cardiff City over the weekend. The 24-year-old’s form hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Everton keen on getting his signature during the summer transfer window.
The Toffees have enjoyed a solid season and find themselves eighth in the table, four points behind sixth-place Liverpool with a game in hand. Carlo Ancelotti has done a good job at Goodison Park, with the style of football and results very much evident. However, they are winless in their last four league games that have seen them lose momentum, and Ancelotti must do everything possible to help his club achieve European football next term.
Everton are in the hunt for a new striker
Everton will take a dip in the transfer market for a new striker as they plan to not give Josh King a new deal at the end of the season.
King, 29, joined Everton from Bournemouth on a short-term deal on deadline day in the January transfer window. Life hasn’t been easy on Merseyside for the forward as he is yet to start a game for the Toffees and his eight appearances so far have all come off the bench. Ancelotti has no intention of offering the Norwegian international a new contract, with King certain to leave the club this summer.
The 29-year-old’s potential exit would leave Ancelotti and co. with just one recognised number nine in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is Everton’s top scorer with 14 league goals. He has benefited mightily from working under Ancelotti and Duncan Ferguson and is expected to be a part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the European Championship this summer.
The idea to pair up Calvert-Lewin with Richarlison up front has worked well for Ancelotti this term, with the latter scoring six league goals to date. However, both Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have to be kept fresh and fit throughout the next campaign if Ancelotti aims to win silverware, and that would be possible only if he manages to bring in a new striker.
Does Adam Armstrong fit the bill at Goodison Park?
A youth product of the Newcastle United academy, Adam Armstrong failed to score a single goal in 21 appearances for the Toon Army. Having enjoyed loan spells with Coventry City, Barnsley and Bolton, the former England under-21 international initially joined Blackburn on a temporary deal from Newcastle in 2017/18 where he scored nine times in League One and helped the club secure promotion to the Championship at the first time of asking. That saw Armstrong leave Newcastle permanently for Blackburn in August 2018.
The striker has surpassed his last season’s tally of 17 goals in all formats, catching Everton’s eyes. Armstrong is playing for Blackburn like a man in form and would be a reliable backup to Calvert-Lewin, but there are some rumours that Dominic Calvert-Lewin could join Manchester United. He would be a good fit at Goodison Park and there are chances of the striker establishing himself at a higher level under the guidance of Ancelotti. Thus, the Toffees must secure his services.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
