Football FanCast
·16 December 2021
Football FanCast
·16 December 2021
Everton have been linked with a move for Feyenoord midfielder Guus Til ahead of the upcoming January transfer window as manager Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his threadbare forward line.
According to TEAMtalk, the Toffees are weighing up a move for the 23-year-old, although they’re set to face extensive competition for his signature, with Wolves, West Ham United, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Brighton, Brentford and Watford also listed as potential suitors.
Til moved to Feyenoord on loan from Spartak Moscow in the summer, and although the Russian outfit have a recall clause in Til’s loan deal, Arne Slot’s charges are desperate not to lose him halfway through the campaign.
After rising through the ranks at boyhood club AZ Alkmaar, Til became one of the hottest properties in Dutch football, prompting Spartak to splash £15m on the attacker back in 2019.
However, things didn’t go to plan for the 6 foot 1 dynamo during his time at the capital club.
In his 23 appearances for Spartak throughout his maiden campaign at the Otkritie Bank Arena, Til managed just two goals and four assists, prompting a season-long loan move to Freiburg next term.
But his spell in the Bundesliga also ended in major disappointment after he failed to establish himself in the first-team squad, making just seven league outings during 2020/21.
Nevertheless, a return to his homeland has allowed the Netherlands international to recapture his best form and showcase his true potential on a regular basis once again.
Til has proved his doubters wrong by notching up a remarkable 15 strikes and three assists in 28 games for Feyenoord, playing a pivotal part in their rise to third in the Eredivisie table.
He bagged a brace in an enthralling 5-3 victory over NEC Nijmegen earlier in the campaign, and his second was a stunning strike following a trademark burst into the penalty area, earning praise from several impressed onlookers.
“I knew in advance he was capable of scoring goals but what he mainly brings is an unbelievable willpower and running ability when the opponent has the ball,” said Slot (as relayed by Rijnmond).
Despite his eye-catching exploits, the Feyenoord hierarchy have already resigned themselves to losing the Til in the near future as they’re unable to match the creative talent’s wage demands.
“(Til) will eventually go back to Moscow, that’s what has been agreed between the three parties involved,” adds director Frank Arnesen. “He has a salary in Moscow that Feyenoord can’t come close to. He deserved that.”
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And the £4.5m-rated gem could form a formidable partnership with Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, should he make the switch to Merseyside this winter. After all, this is a player who has scored 52 times in his senior career to date.
Calvert-Lewin has become the Blues’ star striker in recent years, notching up 39 goals in his last 83 appearances, and the added creativity and firepower that Til would bring may see that strike rate increase even further.
Therefore, Benitez must swoop for Til in January, potentially securing the extra quality he needs to turn Everton’s disappointing season around.