Everton have enjoyed a much more comfortable start to their 2022/23 Premier League campaign after making eight new signings in the summer, and now transfer targets are starting to emerge ahead of the winter market opening in 2023.

What's the latest?

According to Football Insider, Everton are plotting a swoop for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Daniel Podence in January.

As per the report, it is claimed that the winger's agent Jorge Mendes is on the hunt for a new club for his client despite Podence becoming a regular first-team starter at the Molineux - with Farhad Moshiri and Everton believed to be strongly interested.

He's exactly what Everton need

There is no doubt that there have been improvements in the performances on the pitch compared to last season - when the side endured a difficult relegation scrap at the bottom of the table.

Everton are now 12th in the Premier League standings and, currently sitting four points clear of the bottom three, which will undoubtedly delight Frank Lampard. However, there is still some room to improve in one particular area of the pitch.

Defensively, the Toffees look extremely assued, with Conor Coady and James Tarkowski forming a formidable centre-back partnership. However, compared to teams above them in the table, going forwards, the Blues have scored the joint-least amount of goals (11) this season so far.

Indeed, Everton did lose the services of Richarlison in the summer, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin has also been out with a number of injury issues over the last 12 months, so it comes as no surprise that the side are struggling for goals, although this is an issue that should've been addressed in the summer transfer window.

As a result, the signing of Podence could be just what Everton needs due to his versatile attacking capabilities and Premier League experience, meaning he could be a ready-made solution to the side's goal-shy approach to their games.

The 27-year-old dynamo - who was hailed "clever" by former manager Bruno Lage - has scored two goals and created two big chances, as well as making an average of 1.6 key passes and taking 1.7 shots per game over 12 league appearances in 2022/23.

One of the Portuguese winger's most notable attributes that would be hugely beneficial to Lampard is his versatility in positioning, with Podence more than capable of playing across the front three and even in a deeper advanced midfield role.

With that being said, if the powers at Goodison Park can secure a good deal for Podence in January, it would certainly appear to be a worthwhile investment when looking for ways to improve their attacking threat over the second half of the season.