Why Bas Dost Would Be A Great Signing For Everton
It was one of the summer’s long-running sagas and Everton’s pursuit of a striker ultimately proved futile, and is one of the major reasons for their apathetic, drab start to the Premier League season.
Romelu Lukaku, Everton’s 25-goal hitman, left for Manchester United in a mega-money deal this summer and is enjoying a fantastic start to life at Old Trafford. Lukaku’s absence has been felt dearly at Everton as the Royal Blues have scored just four goals in the opening seven league games – a paltry return given they spent £140m in the transfer window.
Ronald Koeman’s frustration was apparent as he failed to land to his No.1 target in Arsenal striker Oliver Giroud. The Toffees did bring in Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez but they have both failed to fill Lukaku’s big boots.
Regardless of spending big in the summer, an uninspiring Everton lie 16th in the table and Koeman’s job is under big threat. And according to ESPN, the Everton manager is ready to splash the cash again in January and this time on his fellow Dutchman, Bas Dost.
The 28-year-old Dost, who has an impressive record since moving to Portugal, could fit the bill at Everton. Lukaku’s departure means the Toffees are sorely lacking a target man and in Dost, Koeman will finally get a striker he hunted the entire summer, to bolster his goal-shy attack.
Dost moved to Sporting Lisbon from Wolfsburg in the summer of 2016 and has enjoyed a dream debut season, scoring 36 goals in 41 games for the club. His top form has continued into the current campaign, with 5 goals in 8 outings.
At 6ft 5in, Dost fits exactly into the targetman mould and lurks as well as poaches like a good old traditional forward. The most pleasing thing about the Dutchman is his sudden reincarnation. For two years, Dost looked like a flash in the pan at Wolfsburg and recurrent injuries didn’t help his case. He often played second fiddle to more reliable, mobile strikers. But Dost struggled and toiled before proving himself at Wolfsburg.
That was the most unexpected development in Dost’s career which suddenly saw him gain international fame. However, it hasn’t gone well at the international level for the towering striker as he has only one goal for the Netherlands from 15 outings.
In the summer of 2016, Sporting came calling for Dost, to which the towering striker obliged and the rest is history.
Dost has proved to be a fantastic poacher in the game, feasting on good quality wide players’ pinpoint crosses. It is very little wonder the Dutchman needs just a touch to score and jump for a hipsterian-style salute. Everton’s creative midfielders, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klassen will be in for a treat to have Dost as the team’s No.9.
Apart from offering aerial threat, Dost is also capable of holding the ball up, but it’s his first touch that has seen him get deserted a number of times. That is an aspect of the game which Dost needs to improve massively to become an all-round striker.
Sporting faces an uphill task in the Champions League to qualify from Group D, with Barcelona and Juventus being the favourites to qualify for the next round. Elimination would make a move to Everton more enticing for Dost, who has a buyout clause of €60m at Sporting.
Dost’s fabulous form will undoubtedly attract some attention from bigger clubs but there will be no marvel if Everton trigger Dost’s release clause in January.