Who could Everton realistically target in January to bolster their attack following the collapse of the Folarin Balogun deal last month?
Text Size + –
Since we’re still in the boring international period, another speculative article.
In theory, we should be in the market for a striker in January – with roughly £40m in the kitty from the failed Balogun deal.
January is not the easiest time to sign top targets various reasons. But it’s not a write off either. The likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Gakpo, Suarez, Van Dijk, Vidic and Evra were all high-profile January signings (and there are lots of successful “low key” signings too).
So, who can we realistically get in January with our £40m?
A few options are set out below – but bear in mind a different range of options might come into play next summer. This is just for January.
Loan
Loans are a pretty low risk option. Available players might include:
Zirkzee (25) Man Utd: at about the 4th or 5th attempt, we might finally get him. Strange sort of player. Lots of technical ability, impressive physique – but a very, very poor goal return in the Premier League. Like a poor man’s Berbatov. However, he could link up very nicely with the likes of Johnson and George.
Ferguson (21) Brighton: if fit, he’s a really good striker. If fit. He currently seems to be troubled by an ankle injury that has kept him out of action since January. And since he has steered clear of gender ambiguous clothing in this period the injury must be genuine too.
Ending Contract
Last chance for the current clubs of this lot to earn a few quid – but the following three might either stay put and look at their many options in summer 2027, or do a loan to tide them over.
Mateta (29) Palace: very unlikely to come to Everton. Palace could well be in or on the fringes of the relegation places in January, and may prefer to retain him for 6 months to secure Premier League status, rather than sell for about £30m. If he does leave, he’ll probably be looking for Champions League options (which he’ll have as a free in summer 2027) or a pay day in Saudi.
Richarlison (29) Spurs: not really featuring at Spurs and could be pretty cheap (£20m?) in January – but the strongest links seem to be clubs in Brazil and the Middle East. Didn’t seem enthusiastic about returning in summer – and I don’t think that will have changed by January. Possibility of a loan I suppose – but again, probably not.
Up to around £40m fees
There are probably anywhere between 25 and 50 decent options here but rather than go on endlessly here, I’ve just called out a top 10 (ish) of the more realistic ones for January. In summer 2027 it’ll be different – but if we do pay money in January, these are decent options.
Ebnoutalib (23) Frankfurt: late developer and called up for Germany recently. Tall and talented and presses well – and has started the season really well. He could plausibly become a £60–70m player within 18 months and Frankfurt may be reluctant to lose him at this stage of his development.
Tresoldi (22) Club Brugge: highly-rated and surprisingly didn’t move in summer 2026. Good size, physique and goalscoring record in the Belgian League, Champions League and Germany U21s. If we’re interested we would need to join the queue behind a lot of Champions League clubs, and the fee would probably be £40m at least. However, that doesn’t buy you “ready-made” and may struggle initially.
Matanovic (23) Freiburg: a big unit. Heavily linked now to some big clubs including Man Utd but don’t expect the new Nistelrooy. Decent technical hold up play, very strong and good in the air but I doubt he’d score lots of goals. Still a good player and a good option but probably not a “star” striker as such. £35m at least and potentially much more.
Toure (22) Norwich: the young Australian has done really well in the Championship and not unlike Balogun in style of play and characteristics. He already appears to be too good for that division and would seem worth taking a risk on. However, his availability will probably depend on whether Norwich have a genuine chance of promotion. The fee would probably be upwards from £25m.
Asllani (24) Hoffenheim: a good, tall technical target man although not blessed with much pace (just coming back from injury too). Scores at a decent rate in the Bundesliga and certainly being looked at by lots of big clubs around Europe. I don’t think he’d score that many (probs no more than 10 a season) but he’d add quality to the attack and his link-up play might be good for the pacier George and Johnson. Might cost up to about £25m?
Botelli (20) FC Sion (Switzerland): one of the top U21 strikers in world football right now. Pace, skill and good goalscoring form – albeit not in a particularly strong league. He looks set to move in summer 2027 and is the sort of player Leipzig, Dortmund and Brighton buy. Could be available in January for the right price - £25m ish?
Kaua Elias (20) Shakhtar Donetsk: very talented young Brazilian albeit not scoring at a rate you might hope in such a weak league. Another of the top U21 strikers in world football. The thing that sets him apart as well as very good technical skills is that he leads the statistical rankings for strikers pressing across the various major(ish) leagues. He is the sort of player that might sign for Porto for about £25m and then be sold for £85m a couple of seasons later.
Up to around £20m
Ponamarkenko (20) Dynamo Kyiv: another of the top U21 strikers in world football, albeit shining in a very weak league (alongside excellent youth international track record). Powerful and tall without being lanky, and a good finisher too. Another Dortmund or Leipzig type player - having just missed out on Galatassary in summer.
Vipotnik (24) Swansea: top scorer in the Championship 2025/26 and attracted interest from big clubs in Portugal (and Turkey) as a possible “next Gyökeres” from the Championship. He is a similar-ish sort of player to Gyokeres but not as good, and not managed to keep up last season’s form either. But might be a good signing to tide us over until summer – at which point he would just become a useful squad player behind Barry and hopefully a new “star” striker. Maybe available for about £18m?
Beljo (24) Dinamo Zagreb: scoring at an exceptional rate and seems far too good for the (low standard) Croatian league. Had a failed spell in Germany when very young but bounced back well in his home country. He’s a very tall, strong, technical striker who scores a decent range of goals. Might be available for as little as £18m or so.
There will be others, there always are. But a decent selection of players who might be available to us.
##### Beto — If Attitude Alone Were a Determinant of Footballing Success While he didn’t quite make the grade, he was an ever-willing stop-gap who always gave maximum effort even if his limitations ultimately prevented him from realising his dream of becoming Everton’s undisputed No 9.
##### Same Old Story Only Everton could turn a window with a supposed plan into a fresh installment of the same old farce of kicking the can down the road. We were supposed to be past this.
##### Can We Try and Be Positive? This wasn't the transfer window anybody wanted but it’s not worth losing our minds over either. David Moyes had to find a way with what he had, and I back him to do it again
Selected thoughts from readers
Either no responses have been submitted so far to this article or previous submissions are being assessed for inclusion.
Add Your Thoughts
Only registered users of Evertonia can participate in discussions.
» Log in now
Or Join as Evertonia Member — it takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your thoughts on artices across the site.