Fulham could be ready to battle with a number of Premier League rivals for a promising young talent… 

What’s the word?

According to sources at Football Insider, Everton have been keeping a close eye on Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson.

However, they will have to battle with the interested Cottagers and Southampton for the 21-year-old.

The Spanish club are keen to keep hold of the forward, but his £27m release clause could force them to sell.

He can emulate Sadio Mane

With Sadio Mane having left the league for Bayern Munich this summer, he departs the league with an immense legacy after winning all there was to win.

Jackson, who is also of Senegalese nationality, will be hoping that if he was to make the switch to the Premier League, he could emulate his career somewhat. Mane notched up 120 goals over his Liverpool career, dazzling defences with his speed and direct play.

It's that combination of skills that Jackson also very much has in his locker. For instance, the Villarreal man was described by Football Talent Scout, Jacek Kulig, as "very good on the ball, good at dribbling and passing. He [Jackson] likes to carry the ball to create danger and create chances for his teammates."

He continued: "He is fast and good in aerial duels too", after noting of his versatility all across the front line. Comparatively, last season Mane played on both wings and through the centre, again posing another striking similarity between the two.

These are all attributes which made the former Liverpool man such a special footballer, proved by his ranking in the top 1% for progressive passes received and in the top 12% for total shots per 90.

Getting the ball on the turn and driving at his man was what made him such a menace for defenders, whilst his ability to shoot at any moment meant goalkeepers could never be safe when he was around the area.

Having only just made his senior debut for Villarreal last season, Jackson has started this campaign off with his first ever La Liga goal. A neat piece of poachers play, he arrived late into the back post to poke him from a tight angle in Mane-esque fashion.

With most of the goalscoring burden set to fall upon Aleksandar Mitrovic for this Premier League season, Silva will be hoping that bringing in Jackson will spread the goals out and create more threats going forward.

Only managing nine short substitute appearances last season for the Yellow Submarine, his average SofaScore rating of 6.70 suggested that this young attacker could plenty of consistency and reliability even without the goals. Even when Mane was not scoring for the Reds, his aura and ability alone drew attention from defenders.

However, with his first goal now in the bag, he is expected to kick on and take Spanish football by storm. Perhaps Fulham could invest early and bag this 6 foot 1 attacker who is just “beginning to shine” in the words of Rafa Mainez.

Mane only managed one goal and one assist in his first full season in senior football and he turned into one of the best forwards in recent history.

Perhaps Silva could invest early in this versatile Senegalese striker who could follow in his compatriot's footsteps.