Goals. Football’s currency. Defence wins you titles, and all that, but without goals, you’re not going to place the foundational blocks of any degree of success.
Everton need goals, need them desperately. Sean Dyche knows that his side are entering a harsh winter period having failed to inspire, with Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford brutally exposing the Toffees’ shortcomings up top.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s days are numbered. He’s out of contract at the end of the campaign and a cynic would claim that his eight-match drought in the Premier League is a by-product of that uncertainty and the effect it’s had on his form.
With Armando Broja approaching the green light after injury woes, the 27-year-old might leave Goodison Park with his tail between his legs.
2024/25
13 (12)
2
1
2023/24
32 (26)
7
2
2022/23
17 (15)
2
1
2021/22
17 (15)
5
2
2020/21
33 (32)
16
1
2019/20
36 (30)
13
1
2018/19
35 (19)
6
2
2017/18
32 (18)
4
5
2016/17
11 (5)
1
0
Calvert-Lewin has enjoyed heights on Merseyside in the past, even hailed as a “monster” by talent scout Jacek Kulig during his heyday under Carlo Ancelotti.
A new age approaches. Farhad Moshiri’s 94% stake is soon to be purchased by The Friedkin Group, and hopefully, a fresh approach to transfer strategy will end the glut of misfires up front.
There have been a few to be sure…
Everton's worst strikers in modern history
Indeed, there have been a few. Everton fans have suffered some howlers in the transfer market since Moshiri insinuated himself in the head chair, and many exciting arrivals at number nine have proved to be anything but auspicious.
Sandro Ramirez, for example, left Barcelona to rise to prominence as Everton’s star man in 2017. It was a shrewd deal at around £5m, but he was utterly useless across his short Merseyside career, failing to carry the promise of his 16-goal campaign in Spain the year before, featuring just 16 times and scoring once before leaving the Toffees with negligible memories.
Cenk Tosun would be another, one of more damaging financial repercussions. He joined from Besiktas for £27m but only scored 11 goals from 61 appearances, made more frustrating when noting he bagged five times from his opening 14 Premier League matches.
What about Moise Kean? How frustrating that the Italian centre-forward, still only 24, has posted 12 goals from 15 matches for Fiorentina this term but fell heavily by the wayside, scoring only four goals across 39 matches.
Everton signed Juventus’ prospect for £29m, and while he was offloaded for £25m, it’s still one that rankles.
That brings us to Salomon Rondon.
In fairness, Rondon didn’t prove to be the costliest blunder, for he joined on a free transfer after his contract with Chinese outfit Dalian Professional expired. He reunited with Rafa Benitez but it was not a happy reunion.
The now 35-year-old managed just 20 Premier League appearances across his lonely Merseyside campaign, scoring once and assisting once more. As per Sofascore, the Venezuelan titan failed to show even a small degree of the technicality required, completing 62% of his passes and winning a paltry 27% of his ground duels.
Rondon only missed two big chances, so he can’t have been all that profligate in the final third, but if anything, this is a representation of his immobile, insipid presence up top, unable to find promising positions from which he could unleash shots.
You’d think, now playing in the twilight phase of his career, that Rondon would be on the way out, languishing in obscurity.
Although he plays in the Mexican top flight, the striker’s goalscoring exploits and trophy-lifting success have seen him be ranked alongside some of Europe’s finest centre-forwards and above Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
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How Rondon is now ranked above Mohamed Salah
After something of a revival with River Plate in Argentina, Rondon has settled in Liga MX, the top division in Mexico, posting 25 goals and five assists across 44 matches for the outfit, lifting the CONCACAF Champions Cup last season.
Rondon bagged a brace in the final and then went on to notch three goals for his nation in the 2024 Copa America, leading FIFA to place him in contention for the global institution’s The Best Award.
Salah was not placed on the shortlist, and while Liverpool supporters and many more football fans besides will argue that the indomitable Egyptian is the superior player to Rondon across any stretch of his nomadic career, Toffees supporters will still delight in one of their former flops outranking him on such a prestigious list.
The Liverpool forward has long been regarded as one of the finest Premier League stars, and though he has led a storied career under Jurgen Klopp’s wing, the 32-year-old has hit another level within Arne Slot’s system, scoring 12 goals and adding ten assists across 19 matches in all competitions this season.
Given that the likes of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, wreaking havoc with Bayern Munich, are among the contenders for the award, it’s pretty rewarding stuff for an ageing player of Rondon’s ilk. No doubt, he will stand proud.
Everton will be frustrated that they failed to harness the goal prowess that Rondon has demonstrated elsewhere – including in the Premier League – and though TFG need to fix the forward issue at the moment, it’s unlikely that they will be swooping in for their former flop, even if he’s receiving such praiseworthy nominations.
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