Sean Dyche may now prioritise move for Joel Piroe as Fabrizio Romano shares news on El Bilal Toure

Everton target El Bilal Toure has now all but completed his move to Serie A side Atalanta which may now force Sean Dyche to prioritise a move for Swansea City striker Joel Piroe.

According to Fabrizio Romano (27 July), the Malian international’s move to Bergamo is now “done and sealed” after the Italian club “closed the agreement” on Thursday.

Everton have long been linked with the Almeria sensation throughout the summer and even made a last-ditch attempt to secure their top striker target with Paul Joyce reporting in The Times on 26 July that despite confidence from Atalanta the deal was theirs Everton were still “adamant they are neck and neck” for Toure’s signature.

However, Romano’s latest update appears to have closed the door on the Toffees with the final price totalling £26.5m after add-ons.

He tweeted on Thursday (27 July): “Understand Atalanta have just closed the agreement with Almería for El Bilal Touré — done and sealed.

“Touré will undergo medical on Friday. €28m fixed fee, €3m in add ons. 15% sell-on clause included. Atalanta will pay solidarity.

“Here we go, confirmed.”

With academy product Ellis Simms joining Coventry City on Friday 7 July, Everton’s desperation for a striker has now considerably grown and given the Toffees’ damning goalscoring exploits last season, finishing as the division’s second-lowest scorers (34 goals), a striker is certainly high on their priority transfer list and the Toure blow may now present Dyche with another burgeoning and exciting alternative.

And Swansea City’s target man Piroe should certainly be the forward Dyche looks to this summer.

The 23-year-old swiftly became one of the Championship’s most ruthless finishers over the past two campaigns, notching 20 goals from 45 appearances last season after hitting 24 goals the previous term.

Piroe looks almost certain to leave Swansea this summer and is now attracting Premier League interest from Everton and Nottingham Forest [Wales Online, 29 June] after a stunning campaign, with his contract still having a year left to run.

It is believed Everton have made tentative enquiries for the talented striker but are yet to firm up their interest, and given their financial struggles as of late, the Blues have the chance to potentially steam ahead of Forest to secure a quick deal to land the forward.

According to Italian outlet Tutto Salernitana (7 July), both Premier League clubs are capable of offering the amount that Swansea want to let Piroe go, as well as putting an attractive contract offer on the table for the Welsh club to consider.

Journalist Paul Brown, speaking to GiveMeSport (7 July), suggested that Piroe would be interested in a move to Goodison Park this summer handing the Toffees all the encouragement they need to secure his signature.

The failure in the Toure chase is certainly a blow for Dyche and Everton as the Malian international represented a stunning and attractive opportunity to explore, given his raft potential and unique attacking talents, but with Atalanta desperate for a striker this summer, Toure was always going to choose them as his next career step.

Piroe represents less of a risk than Toure and is perfectly ready to make the step up to the Premier League following two sensational campaigns in the Championship.

Piroe not only holds the qualities to become a household name at Goodison Park but also possesses the confidence and character to become a serious Premier League success story, like several other strikers before him to successfully make the grade.

The forward, dubbed “outstanding” by his former manager Russell Martin has enjoyed life at the Welsh club over the previous few seasons as stated previously, scoring 24 goals in 2021/22 and finding the net on 20 occasions last season, suggesting he is a prolific frontman that can score on a regular basis.

With his contract up in 2024, Everton may well secure his services for a knock-down price, and given the financial difficulties clouding over Goodison Park right now, Farhad Moshiri and Dyche certainly won’t be turning down bargain opportunities in the market.

The Toure failure must not be seen as a blow at Goodison Park but an opportunity to seek a more attainable and risk-free striker transfer close to home.

In other Everton news, two new European clubs want to sign an “impressive” Toffees ace this summer.