Everton are confident in securing at least £50m for their star striker Richarlison this summer and may have a perfect replacement for him already at the club in Lewis Dobbin.
What's the story?
According to Football Insider sources, the Toffees are willing to listen to offers of £50m for the Brazilian who has been key in their battle for Premier League survival. Selling him would allow them to save money on wages which will be crucial if they are relegated, but would also provide an opportunity to re-invest the profit.
However, they don't need to spend the money made on another striker. Unsurprisingly, Everton who are renowned for giving young players opportunities, have a rising star in their ranks who could be the player to step up.
Dobbin can be the perfect replacement
19-year old Lewis Dobbin has looked good in the youth setup at Finch Farm and now could be the time for the club to reward him for his hard work and impressive displays.
This season he has appeared 17 times in Premier League 2 and has directly contributed to six goals in that time. He has also made five first-team appearances this season and if Everton do end up going down he could be the perfect man to build for the future with.
He has been described as "class" by journalist Will Magee who told his followers on Twitter to "remember the name". Whilst there has been a lot of hype before around young players, Everton aren't really in a position where they can spend loads of money and in the past trusting in their youth setup has paid off.
The most recent example is Anthony Gordon who has been a key figure in their side this season and has been one of the positives to a poor campaign. The Toffees are sixth when it comes to the least amount of goals scored in the league this season, so trying something different with Dobbin certainly wouldn't make things much worse.
Everton correspondent at the Liverpool Echo Adam Jones agrees that he should get "a chance to impress" saying that he has been "fantastic" for the U23s.
The England U19 international may not be at the levels of Richarlison straight away, but he does have great potential and using him would allow Everton to focus their transfer efforts on positions where improvement is needed much more than up front.