A young Major League Soccer and USMNT center forward is using a loan stint to catapult his transfer value, and a Premier League side may join his Championship hosts in pursuing Daryl Dike.
Everton is interested in Daryl Dike, whose scored plenty in his short time with Barnsley.
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Meanwhile, Arsenal and Leicester City are training their eyes to France for a young center back, something both clubs have done in recent years.
Is there fire underneath this smoke? There’s only one way to find out.... and that’s wait to see if the transfer happen. But, also, you can just read on and make an educated decision.
Dike to Everton
My, what a difference a loan makes.
Barnsley striker Daryl Dike, 20, has five goals in 11 Championship matches on loan from Orlando City, and the Tykes have lost just one of those matches, winning nine.
Dike has built on an impressive rookie season in Major League Soccer that saw him score eight times with three assists in 22 matches, earning his first call-ups to the United States men’s national team.
Dike turns 21 in early June, four days after he’s set to return to Florida from Oakwell.
Barnsley reportedly has an option to buy the striker for around $27 million, the same price tag being applied to him as a target of Everton.
Eurosport says Dike could become a Toffee and back-up Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been refined into a scoring machine by Carlo Ancelotti. USMNT fans would surely like the idea of Dike enjoyed such an educatoin.
But Barnsley looms over the proceedings and might see the investment as worthwhile should they achieve Premier League status through the playoffs. The Tykes are currently fifth on the table with eight matches left in the league season.
Doukoure to Arsenal, Leicester City
Arsenal and Leicester City are said to be targeting Valenciennes center back Ismael Doukoure.
Doukoure, still 17 until this summer, has 15 senior appearances for the Ligue 2 outfit, and is a big man with big passing range, earning comparisons to soon-to-be Bayern Munich man Dayot Upamecano.
He’s far from ready for the top-flight of England or France and could see a loan back to a Ligue 1 team were he to move to a Premier League club.
Arsenal has plenty of history with French-based prospects, both center back and other. Whether recent like Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, or Matteo Guendouzi or longer ago like Laurent Koscielny and Bacary Sagna, the Gunners have enjoyed the fruits of Ligues 1 and 2.
And for that matter, Leicester City and Brendan Rodgers have a history there, too, adding Wesley Fofana this summer after unearthing Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante from France.