Everton have been linked with a January transfer move for Bologna striker Santiago Castro
Santiago Castro celebrates after scoring during the match between Parma and Bologna at Stadio Ennio Tardini on November 2, 2025
Santiago Castro celebrates after scoring during the match between Parma and Bologna at Stadio Ennio Tardini on November 2, 2025
View 2 Images
With Everton’s strikers continuing to struggle for goals, Bologna’s Santiago Castro is the latest player being linked with a January move to Hill Dickinson Stadium to bolster the Blues’ firepower. Beto has registered once in the Premier League so far this season, a header in the 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 30 while Thierno Barry is yet to break his duck following his £27million move from Villarreal in July.
In recent weeks, Al-Ahli’s Ivan Toney, supposedly keen to get back in the Premier League to try and force his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad, and AZ’s Troy Parrott, who netted all five of the Republic of Ireland’s goals in their 2-0 victory over Portugal and 3-2 comeback success in Hungary in the last international break, have both been linked with potential transfers to Everton in the New Year.
However, TEAMtalk reports that the Blues are keeping a close eye on Bologna striker Castro, but warns they must move decisively to strike a deal.
Author avatar
Author avatar
Their article claims that Castro’s form has caught Everton’s attention, though other sides are likely to be in the mix for his signature with Champions League finalists Inter showing interest last summer.
The piece says Castro is contracted with Bologna until 2028 and his weekly wage is understood to be around £16,000 per week, which is low compared to players in the Premier League, so he could be tempted by a lucrative salary offer. However, Bologna have plans to change that and are ready to reward the €35million (£31m) rated star with a significant pay rise.
Just what kind of player is Castro then? Born in the San Martin district of Buenos Aires, on September 18, 2004, he celebrated his 21st birthday a couple of months ago.
When it comes to current Premier League players, Comparisonator’s Similarity calculator reckons the 6ft star’s closest match is Bournemouth’s Evanilson at 97%, followed by Fulham’s Raul Jimenez (95%); Brighton & Hove Albion’s Danny Welbeck (89%) and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (86%). In terms of the kind of frontman Castro is, he scores 7.4 out of 10 for box striker; 5.6 for false nine; 5.5 for pressing forward & mobile striker; plus 5.2 for target man.
We can also use Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool to correlate Castro’s statistics from Serie A this season with those playing in his position in the Premier League. The Artificial Intelligence Team Finder reckons the Argentinian is a better fit at a dozen of the 20 clubs, including Everton, than the incumbent strikers.
Castro is given an A.I. Suitability Weight of 218.83 while Beto’s score is 123.75 and Thierno Barry 56.94. He doesn’t seem to be a player who relies on blistering pace though as when it comes to sprint count (runs of over 25km/h), the Bologna man averages 10.63 per 90 minutes, a figure that would only place him 24th in the Premier League with Beto averaging 14, Barry 12.9 and category leader Kevin Schade of Brentford 27, while Castro’s top speed of 33.16km/h is bettered by 27 English top-flight strikers, with Beto recording 33.76, Barry 33.64 and former Blues player Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Leeds United the quickest at 36.3.
When looking for areas where he does better, Castro’s 0.44 for opportunities converted would place him fourth in the Premier League behind Erling Haaland of Manchester City (1.27); Welbeck (0.55) and Igor Thiago of Brentford (0.45). His 0.89 average for shots on target would place him sixth in a category topped by Haaland (2.36) while his expected goals (xG) comes in at 0.35 which would put him seventh with Haaland again leading the way on 0.87
Bologna's Santiago Castro's opportunities converted figure for this season compared to Premier League strikers
Bologna's Santiago Castro's opportunities converted figure for this season compared to Premier League strikers
View 2 Images
One area where Castro would be number one is successful long passes, with an average of 0.67 to top Premier League leader Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace (0.45), but it’s doubtful as to how useful this attribute is for a striker given that they should be getting on the end of such balls. Although the 2025 Coppa Italia winner has scored four goals in nine Serie A games this season, his overall strike rate is hardly prolific.
He’s hit 15 in 66 games overall for Bologna after finding the net nine times in 65 matches for his first club Velez Sarsfield.
Part of the trick for clubs like Everton when recruiting strikers – almost always the most expensive commodities in football – is snapping them up just on the cusp of greatness before they become out of reach financially, but while he’s enjoying a decent season, Castro still looks like something of a significant gamble as Beto hit double figures in back-to-back seasons in Italy for Udinese but still struggles to deliver regularly over here.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.