Everton have now made their first move to sign Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho by registering their interest in the striker, according to a recent report from Football Insider.
What's the latest Everton transfer news?
Everton have sanctioned the departure of Ellis Simms, with the striker joining Coventry City for an undisclosed fee, meaning Sean Dyche is now running the rule over a number of targets to bolster his attacking options this summer.
The Toffees are in the race to sign Salernitana striker Boulaye Dia, who has a €25m (£21.7m) release clause in his contract that is set to expire tomorrow, and Dyche is willing to use Neal Maupay in a part-exchange deal for the Senegal international.
In the same report, it is mentioned that Viktor Gyokeres was a target for the Blues, but he has since moved to Sporting Lisbon, while Moussa Dembele has also been discussed, however the Frenchman is believed to have received very lucrative contract offers from Saudi Arabia.
According to a report from Football Insider, Everton have now made the first move to sign Iheanacho by registering their interest in the Leicester striker, who is out of contract in less than 12 months, meaning the Foxes could be forced to sell him.
The Toffees only have a limited budget this summer, however they could use the money raised from selling Simms and potentially Maupay by making one marquee signing, as opposed to bringing in a number of new players.
Leicester are believed to value the Nigerian at around £10m – £15m, with the deal to sell Simms to Coventry allegedly netting the Toffees around £8m, including add-ons.
Having registered their interest in the forward, it remains to be seen whether Everton decide to come to the negotiating table with an official bid.
How many goals has Kelechi Iheanacho scored?
The Nigeria international has not exactly been prolific in the Premier League, having scored 42 goals in 196 appearances in the top flight, which means he averages less than one goal every four games, however he could still be a good signing for the Blues.
During the 2020-21 campaign, during which the Leicester striker was given more regular game time, he managed to score 12 goals in 25 Premier League outings, while he also recorded seven goal contributions in seven appearances in the Europa League.
Even last season, the £80k-per-week forward was hailed as "brilliant" by members of the media, as a result of the runs he made, and his decision-making in Leicester's end-of-season clash against West Ham United.
The former Manchester City man is a very strong dribbler of the ball, ranking in the 91st percentile for successful take-ons per 90 over the past year, while he also places in the 98th percentile for assists, having averaged 0.40 per 90.
Given that Iheanacho could be available for a fee as low as £10m, it is definitely worth Everton taking a chance on the striker, and having registered their interest, they should now test the waters with a bid.
