The David Moyes revival has already taken Everton so far; Goodison Park is unrecognisable from the tumbledown slump that the Scotsman inherited, confidence at a low ebb after colourless football under Sean Dyche’s wing.
Dyche did a good job, all told, but he couldn’t take the Toffees any further and rightly parted ways when The Friedkin Group looked to christen their ownership with an uplifting appointment.
Moyes has done very well indeed, losing just four of his 16 Premier League games at the helm. However, he needs new recruits this summer, especially at the front of the ship.
With Everton stepping into a new home at the Bramley-Moore dock, it feels the right time to replace the ailing Dominic Calvert-Lewin with a new number nine.
Everton's search for a new striker
Calvert-Lewin has been a stalwart for Everton, playing 270 matches across nine seasons, scoring 71 goals. He’s out of contract this summer, though, with brittle fitness levels and consequent struggles for form suggesting he should be allowed to leave.
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Beto’s resurgent as a focal frontman, but Everton want more, with Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Tim Kleindienst identified as the perfect player to join Moyes’ project.
According to Caught Offside, TFG are ready to pay the €35m (£30m) asking price for the powerful striker, though the same could be said for Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Further interest from overseas complicates matters, but Everton’s willingness to place a bid suggests that Moyes and the owners are driven toward making improvements during the off-season.
Why Everton want Tim Kleindienst
Time was when Everton would cede swift defeat in a jam-packed race for a talented striker, Goodison Park devolving into something of a hotbed for disappointment in recent years.
But this is a new era, and Moyes has restored the feel-good factor. Kleindienst, 29, could make this new feeling even better still, with a clinical track record in Germany denoting his capacity to confidently take Calvert-Lewin’s place in the squad.
The Germany international has scored 16 goals and added ten assists across 32 matches for Gladbach this season, arriving from Heidenheim last summer.
Standing at 6 foot 4, he carries the imposing physicality that Moyes has made such good use of throughout his managerial career, and with Kleindienst winning 4.7 aerial duels per Bundesliga match this season, he has what it takes to flourish in the area Calvert-Lewin so expertly excels.
Matches (starts)*
23 (19)
30 (30)
Goals
3
16
Assists
1
7
Big chances missed
1
14
Pass completion
64%
62%
Big chances created
1
11
Key passes*
0.3
0.9
Dribbles*
0.4
0.4
Tackles + interceptions*
0.7
1.3
Total duels won*
5.5
6.9
The two strikers have a lot in common. Both strong and tall, they win many duels through their focal role in the air; each forward dribbles infrequently, with neither proving the most accurate in his passing.
However, therein lies the disparity. Kleindienst is far more fruitful in his passing, so creative and intelligent with his knock-ons, his lay-offs. Indeed, as per The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor, the German is “an exquisite one-touch player”.
Defensively, there’s a lot to admire too. FBref record Kleindienst ranks among the top 19% of strikers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 11% for interceptions and the top 1% for both blocks and clearances made per 90.
To be sure, signing a striker on the brink of their thirties would be something of a risk, but Kleinsdienst’s athleticism, power and dynamism would be perfect for an Everton side on the up.
Profiled in a similar way to Calvert-Lewin and coveted by divisional rivals, Everton will want to make this statement of intent.
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