Everton could now be set to make a surprise move for a reported long-term target in January…

What’s the latest?

According to Jornal de Noticias (via Sport Witness), the Toffees have been handed their definitive price tag to secure a deal for Issahaku Fatawu.

The report references a €40m (£35m) minimum price for Sporting Lisbon to sanction his exit, with the tricky midfielder also poised to star with Ghana in the forthcoming World Cup.

Having sent a scout to watch him in the Champions League recently, they will want to act quickly to ward off the interest from Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.

He can star at the World Cup

Despite a slow start this season for his Portuguese outfit, he has shown in the past why he is so sought-after.

Dubbed “arguably the best African prospect of his generation” in The Guardian’s Next Generation list of 2021, on the biggest stage in world football he could hopefully prove this with “electric” performances akin to last season.

He scored six goals in just seven Ghanaian Premier League games during his breakout campaign, boasting pace and trickery that Everton have lacked this season.

Upon bursting into the Sporting side, his manager Ruben Amorim was full of praise for his young star, claiming “we believe in him a lot” before dubbing him a “great talent” who is “very fast”.

Of Anthony GordonDemarai Gray and Dwight McNeil, the wingers on Merseyside have a combined goal tally in the league of just six.

Should his trip to Qatar be as successful as his performances last season suggests they could be, Fatawu will likely have plenty more suitors and a much higher price tag than the one currently placed on his head.

The 18-year-old offers consistency and a goalscoring threat unlike anything already at Goodison Park, and given his youth has his whole career to turn his raw pace into consistent talent.

Facing Uruguay, Portugal and South Korea in their World Cup group, it will make his performances even more impressive should he excel in what seems like a group of death for the Black Stars.