Go For It Carlos Carvalhal – This Everton Attacker Could Massively Improve Sheffield Wednesday

Why Oumar Niasse Would Help Sheffield Wednesday Achieve Promotion

Everton appear to be willing to listen to offers for out-of-favour striker Oumar Niasse. The imminent arrival of Malaga forward Sandro Ramirez will put Niasse in an even more difficult position, having played second-fiddle to Ronald Koeman’s main strikers last season.

For whatever reason, Niasse was not given a squad number at the start of last season and played for the club’s under-23 team despite having cost the Merseysiders a cool £13.5million. Niasse spent time on loan at Hull City from January to May and managed 5 goals for the club.

Hull were offered the player on a permanent basis but they have chosen not to take up the opportunity. That leaves the Senegal man available in the market and as long as they can afford it, Sheffield Wednesday could be major beneficiaries of his plight at Goodison Park.

Niasse’s record in the Premier League last season when he got the chance was not bad at all. In just 12 starts (and an average of 64 minutes per appearance) he netted 4 goals and provided one assist. This for a club that struggled badly and got relegated in the end, which makes it all the more impressive.

Across spells for Brann, Akhisar Belediyespor, and Lokomotiv Moscow, Niasse played 85 games, scoring 34 times including 4 from 6 in the Europa League. That’s an excellent record for a young player. In fact, he didn’t register anything at all for Brann, meaning he had ploughed 34 goals in 76 games for his other clubs before joining Everton.

At 27 years of age, Niasse still has plenty more to offer and his record suggests that he would be right at the top rank of strikers in the Championship immediately. His price, in that case, could be quite a steal. I know this is a risk, but even the top clubs in the world, year after year, place their faith and their riches in one or two high-class players rather than a whole squad.

The damage a Ronaldo or a Messi can do in a game is of more value that what 4 or 5 other reasonable players can achieve for Real or Barca and the clubs know this. It’s the nature of the game. Even if the amount looks out of Wednesday’s grasp, they should think carefully about this one, as Niasse could easily be a 30-goal striker in this division. That could be the difference between the Owls being also-rans and being champions.