Everton could move for another striker in January, but Midtjylland’s Franculino Dju may be off the market.
David Moyes has backed Thierno Barry after the Everton striker turned in an encouraging performance against Fulham on Saturday.
Barry is still waiting for his first Premier League goal, but there were promising signs against Fulham.
Both Barry and Beto have been praised by Fulham’s Calvin Bassey for being ‘fighters’, but that doesn’t guarantee goals.
Everton may look to the market for a goalscorer in January, with Franculino Dju on the Toffees’ radar.
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Photo by BO AMSTRUP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Midtjylland rule out selling Everton target Franculino Dju
Everton scouted Franculino in action for Midtjylland against Celtic on Thursday night.
Franculino was a constant menace against Celtic and scored in an impressive 3-1 victory for the Danish side.
Everton were surely impressed with that performance, and the 21-year-old scored again on Sunday as he found the net in a 2-0 win over Randers.
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Franculino has now scored six goals in his last five games, taking his tally for the season to 19 goals in 26 games in all competitions.
January interest is already mounting, but Midtjylland have no interest in selling the Guinea-Bissau international.
Boss Mike Tullberg bluntly told TV2 that Franculino is staying with Midtjylland until the end of the season.
“Yes, he is,” said Tullberg, seemingly uninterested in even entertaining a conversation about Franculino leaving.
Everton may still attempt to convince Midtjylland into selling, but Tullberg has set out his January stance rather early.
Tullberg doesn’t want to sell Franculino, but Premier League money may be difficult to turn down if cold, hard cash is on the table.
Danish reporter Farzam Abolhosseini has told Tipsbladet that all Danish clubs ‘have to sell’ if certain numbers are reached.
Abolhosseini believes that Midtjylland would cash in for around €32million to €35million (£28million to £31million) in January.
“There is a limit, and when people go far enough, all Danish clubs have to sell. I could imagine that Franculino could go for 32 or 33 million euros. Maybe 35 million euros,” said Abolhosseini.
Player Selling Club Buying Club Fee
Ernest Nuamah Nordsjælland RWDM £22m
Victor Froholdt Copenhagen Porto £17.5m
Sindre Walle Egeli Nordsjælland Ipswich Town £17.5m
Orri Oskarsson Copenhagen Real Sociedad £17.5m
Ibrahim Osman Nordsjælland Brighton £17m
Conrad Harder Nordsjælland Sporting £16.7m
Kamaldeen Sulemana Nordsjælland Rennes £15m
We can’t see Everton offering that kind of money, having only invested in Barry over the summer.
Franculino is a talented player, but paying £30million for his signature would mark a new Danish transfer record – and by some margin, as seen above.
That would be a real risk, especially in a January transfer window, but £30million may be the kind of money Midtjylland need in order to change their minds.