Why Everton must take a gamble on Mariano Diaz in January

According to a report from the Liverpool Echo, Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz has been linked with a move to Everton. Real Madrid are keen to offload their striker in January and are willing to cash in on the striker for €15 million.

Mariano Diaz, 26, has been frozen out by Zinedine Zidane at the Bernabeu this season, not even making an appearance for the club. The one-cap Dominican Republic international returned to Real Madrid last summer after a productive season with Lyon where he netted 21 goals in 2017/18.

But since re-joining the Spanish giants, the 26-year-old has made just 33 outings—an eye-catching 27 of which have been from the bench. There’s no doubting Mariano’s quality and with time he will score goals consistently—like he did at Lyon.

That being said, should Everton splash €15 million to acquire his services in January?

Everton are in a wretched run of form at the moment, having lost their last four games in the Premier League.

Marco Silva is under tremendous pressure as his team isn’t producing the goods and getting results. The Toffees are struggling to score goals, despite the presence of some really exciting attackers in the team.

Moise Kean, who arrived at the Goodison Park from Juventus in the summer, is still searching for his debut goal, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is inconsistent and Cenk Tosun looks set to leave the club in January.

With the strikers not delivering the goods, Everton should look to bring in more firepower in that area, regardless of what happens with Tosun in the New Year.

And they could do much worse than splash the money on Mariano Diaz. The 26-year-old has been a victim of lack of opportunities in his second spell at Real Madrid, failing to hit the heights he was expected to do so after a solid spell at Lyon.

In Lyon colours, Mariano did show his potency in front of goal and ability to link with other forwards like Memphis Depay and Bertrand Traore.

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There’s no doubt that with proper support and system, the Spain-born forward would thrive at Everton.

The likes of Bernard, Richarlison and Sigurdsson have performed to a decent standard but they are a shadow of the players they can be and the Toffees need to inject some life into their attack. Mariano would provide Silva’s side with some much-needed vigour and presence in attack, whilst a poacher in the box.

Verdict

For such a low fee too, Everton would be foolish not to consider an approach for Mariano, who is desperately looking for a new club after failing to make an appearance at Real so far this season.