Everton have been linked with a potential transfer move for PSV Eindhoven winger Esmir Bajraktarevic
Esmir Bajraktarevic of PSV Eindhoven
Esmir Bajraktarevic of PSV Eindhoven
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Esmir Bajraktarevic has been linked with a move to Everton. But what could the PSV Eindhoven player potentially bring to the Blues?
Sport Witness cite an article from SportSport in Bajraktarevic’s native Bosnia and Herzegovina claiming Everton scouts watched the winger live in PSV’s 6-1 romp against PEC Zwolle last Thursday when he ran the show, scoring twice and providing a hat-trick of assists. The piece states that display “immediately convinced the Toffees that he’s the player they want in the summer.”
It adds that as a result, Everton are going “full throttle” for Bajraktarevic and have submitted a “concrete offer” to the Dutch club.
The report also states the Blues are aware his price could rise if he impresses at the World Cup and it would also attract more clubs. Premier League rivals Bournemouth have shown interest in the past while recent claims elsewhere named Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.
Although Bajraktarevic has been capped 14 times by Bosnia and Herzegovina, scoring one international goal to date - to put them ahead in their 3-1 comeback win at home to Romania in a World Cup qualifier on November 15 last year - he actually hails from this summer’s tournament’s main host nation the USA, playing 29 minutes for their senior national side in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Slovenia in San Antonio on January 20, 2024, before switching his allegiance.
Bajraktarevic was born on March 10, 2005, in Harry Houdini’s adopted ‘home town’ of Appleton, Wisconsin, some 30 miles south west of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee.
At the age of four, Houdini (real name Erik Weisz), moved from Budapest to Appleton, where his father served as rabbi of the Zion Reform Jewish Congregation. Appleton’s History Museum features an exhibit on its most notable resident and if Everton snapped up Bajraktarevic and he goes on to eclipse the renowned escapologist as the town’s most famous son, it would be a trick to rival the late showman’s spectacular stunts!
Starting out with local club SC Wave, Bajraktarevic was also part of the youth set-up at Major League Soccer outfit Chicago Fire but switched to MLS rivals New England Revolution’s academy. He made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in a 1-0 extra-time defeat at New York City FC in the US Open Cup on May 26, 2022, and after 57 appearances and five goals for the Foxborough, Massachusetts-based outfit, he made his transfer to the Netherlands in January last year for an undisclosed fee.
Bajraktarevic made his PSV bow as an 80th-minute substitute in their 2-2 Champions League draw with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on March 12, 2025 (Mikel Arteta’s side had already won the last 16 tie first leg 7-1 in Eindhoven). So far, he’s turned out 39 times in total for PSV, finding the net on seven occasions, all this term.
Just what kind of player is Bajraktarevic then? Comparisonator’s Similarity tool rates Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto – a player who Everton have pursued in recent transfer windows – as the closest match among current Premier League stars with a score of 85%. He’s followed by Chelsea’s Estevao (82%) and Burnley’s Jaidon Anthony – the substitute who handballed Tyler Dibling’s shot in the area at Turf Moor on December 27 but did not concede a penalty – on 66%.
In terms of being typecast as a particular style of wide man, the 21-year-old doesn’t seem to fit any particular category strongly as his scores in each section are relatively low. He scores 4.2 out of 10 as a wide playmaker; 4 as an inside forward and 3.2 as a line winger.
Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool enables us to correlate Bajraktarevic’s statistics in the Eredivisie this season against current Premier League players operating in his position. Their Artificial Intelligence Team Finder also calculates him as being a better fit than the current incumbent at a trio of clubs, one of which is Everton.
Bajraktarevic is given a A.I. Suitability Weight score of 140.36, which is higher than the Blues’ Dwight McNeil (128.42); Newcastle United’s Anthony Elanga (116.93) and Burnley’s Loum Tchaouna (37.07). His physical numbers make for contrasting reading, though, as while at 117 metres per minute, he is rapid by covering more ground than Premier League leaders Tchaouna and Brenden Andersen of Leeds United (both 114m with McNeil next up on 111m), his total distance per 90 minutes average (4.978km) is less than half of West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen, who tops the division on 10.28km with Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye fourth on 9.292km.
Esmir Bajraktarevic’s distance per minute figures for PSV Eindhoven this season compared to Premier League players in his position
Esmir Bajraktarevic’s distance per minute figures for PSV Eindhoven this season compared to Premier League players in his position
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Although Bajraktarevic’s goals per 90 minutes average (0.22) would place him eighth in his position in the Premier League, ahead of Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka on 0.19, leader Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City comes in at 0.35, while Ndiaye is fifth on 0.26. He also averages 0.22 for assists, which would place him fourth in the Premier League behind Bowen, who got two against Everton last Saturday (0.29); Mohammed Kudus of Tottenham Hotspur (0.28) and Harry Wilson of Fulham (0.23).
With an average of 1.16 shots per 90 minutes, Bajraktarevic is curiously having a pop more than Ndiaye (1.09) but fewer times than McNeil (1.54) in a category topped by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on 2.32. His figure of 0.5 shots on target per 90 minutes would see him creep into the Premier League’s top 10, where Saka leads on 0.85 with Ndiaye third on 0.74.
There’s not a lot of ball carrying from Bajraktarevic either with 2.11 dribbles per 90 minutes, a figure dwarfed by Premier League leader Kudus’ 6.72, with Ndiaye seventh on 4.57, but it’s still more than McNeil’s 1.31. When it comes to successful dribbles, he’s averaging 1 per 90 minutes and for context, Premier League leader Saka has 4 and Ndiaye is seventh again on 2.61.
One area that Bajraktarevic does well in is retaining possession. His average of 4.5 ball losses per 90 minutes is lower than Premier League leader Estevao on 5 with McNeil averaging 6.54 and Ndiaye 10.22.
He makes fewer passes per 90 minutes (19.67) than either Ndiaye (third with 30.17) and McNeil (14th on 20.54) in a category led by Salah on 31.48 while his average of 16.89 successful passes places him below Ndiaye (second on 24.26) but above McNeil (12th on 16.38) in a section topped by Pedro Neto of Chelsea on 25.44.
Overall, Bajraktarevic looks like a promising prospect who has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. However, despite Jarrad Branthwaite coming back to Everton following a season on loan at PSV and enjoying a breakthrough campaign at Goodison Park, the gap in quality between the Eredivisie and the Premier League remains large.
The centre-back is a domestic player from Carlisle whose game combines an assuredness on the ball with considerable physical prowess. When recruiting youthful talent, the Blues face a balancing act between identifying targets before their rivals and bringing in someone who is ready to adapt to the rigours of the English top flight because even at 24, Ajax captain Davy Klaassen was way off the pace in that respect.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising an industry leading 378 different parameters. Click here for more details.