Exclusive: Major Everton boost as £40m-valued ace sets sights on PL move

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17 Oct 2019, 11:30 am

Moussa Dembele is willing to quit Lyon and move back to England next year amid strong Everton interest, Football Insider understands.

The 23-year-old is wanted by Everton and other leading Premier League clubs following his impressive scoring exploits in France as well as at former club Celtic.

A French source has told Football Insider that Dembele regards a transfer to an elite Premier League club as the logical next step in his career.

This is a major boost to Everton, who are keeping tabs on Dembele as they scour the market for top young forwards with proven scoring records at a high level.

He made his name at Fulham after joining in his mid-teens before taking advantage of cross-border rules to move to Celtic for a £250,000 compensation fee in the summer of 2016.

Dembele netted 51 goals in 94 matches in two seasons at Parkhead and demonstrated a flair for scoring on the big occasion before quitting in 2018 in a £19million club-record sale to Lyon.

The former France Under-21 international scored 20 goals in his debut campaign and his tally of 26 from 55 matches for the Champions League outfit has fully justified his return to his homeland.

Dembele has banged in six goals from just eight league games this campaign, just one behind Ligue 1's current top scorer Victor Osimhen.

Lyon are confident of securing a £40million fee for Dembele, who has a contract that runs until 2023.

Everton spent £27million to Juventus on Moise Kean in the summer but have struggled to score goals this season and are 18th in the Premier League ahead of this weekend's fixtures.

In other Everton news, it can be REVEALED that the club have set their sights on signing two players at north-west club.

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