Everton’s struggles in front of goal continue.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth means, since the start of November, the Toffees have failed to score in eight of their ten Premier League fixtures, their sole victory during this period coming over Wolves.
Overall, the Blues have failed to score in 38% of all league matches Sean Dyche has taken charge of, the second-highest ratio of any permanent manager in the club’s 147-year history, behind only Mike Walker’s 48%; he was in charge for just 31 matches in 1994.
Everton won a miserly eight matches throughout the entirety of 2024, their lowest tally for 27 years, with only one club across the entire 92-team Football League, namely Burton Albion, claiming fewer victories.
Thus, Evertonians everywhere will be hoping 2025 delivers better, with a move to their new home at Bramley-Moore Dock on the horizon, but some January transfer window recruitment will surely be required if they’re to climb up the table.
Everton looking at new striker this month
According to a report by Miguel Delaney of the Independent earlier this week, Everton are interested in signing Brighton striker Evan Ferguson on loan for the rest of the season.
He adds that Fulham are also open to such a deal, while Manchester United and Arsenal both have a “longstanding interest” in Ferguson, but that this has faded as his stock has fallen.
Back in September 2023, Ferguson was one of the most sought-after prospects in the Premier League, becoming the fourth-youngest player to score a hat-trick in the competition with this treble against Newcastle, behind only Michael Owen, Chris Bart-Williams and Robbie Fowler.
During the 2022/23 campaign, then a teenager, he scored six times in just 19 Premier League outings, leading to much hype.
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As a result, Ryan Adsett of TSR Football described him as “one of the most exciting centre-forwards on the planet” although, more recently, the Irishman went 336 days without a goal, ending this nigh-on year-long drought against Wolves in October.
Overall, he’s seen just 373 minutes of action this season, starting only two Premier League matches under Fabian Hürzeler to date, hence why a January move is potentially on the cards.
Why Evan Ferguson would bolster Everton's forward-line
As we’ve outlined recently, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has endured a long-standing, major decline in form, scoring just 16 goals across the last three and a half Premier League seasons, as many as he managed during the 2020/21 campaign when he was at the peak of his powers.
In recognition of this, Dyche hsd started Armando Broja in the last two games, albeit the Chelsea loanee is hardly prolific either, given that he hasn’t scored a Premier League goal since 2 October 2023.
Beto, as well as Calvert-Lewin, came off the bench against Nottingham Forest last weekend, so how do Everton’s trio of centre-forward options compare to Ferguson?
Minutes
3,015
3,932
1,258
1,722
Appearances
64
57
38
53
Goals
10
10
3
8
Goals per 90
0.30
0.23
0.21
0.42
Shots per 90
2.19
2.69
2.00
3.54
Shots on target %
50%
40.3%
26.1%
30.9%
Goals – xG
+1.5
-8.6
-1.7
-4.4
As outlined, none of Everton’s three strikers are exactly proficient in front of goal while, in fairness, neither has Ferguson since the start of last season, but two key statistics underline why he’d be an astute edition.
Half of the Irishman’s shots find the target, a substantially higher ratio than his potential future teammates, while he’s actually over-performed his xG during this timeframe, which is in stark contrast to Calvert-Lewin in particular, given that he was actually the least-clinical player across the entire Premier League last season.
Thus, a loan move to Merseyside this month could benefit all parties.
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