Everton seal move for young striker Youssef Chermiti from Sporting CP | OneFootball

Everton have officially confirmed the signing of Sporting CP striker Youssef Chermiti- signing the youngster on a four-year deal until June 2027.

As per Fabrizio Romano, The Blues will pay the Portuguese giants an initial £12m, plus a potential £3m in add-ons for the Portugal U21 international.

Chermiti made his Liga Portugal debut for his boyhood side in January of this year, and has since scored three times and assisted twice in 16 appearances- nine of which were starts.

Furthermore, the 19-year-old expressed his excitement on the move in an interview with the club’s website, stating: “It’s a big move for me. Joining Everton is a new beginning, a new page and I’m very happy to be here. It is a beautiful city and a beautiful club.”

Having struggled with the absence of Dominik Calvert-Lewin last season, who started just 15 league games due to injury, The Toffees acquisition of the 6’4” striker comes as they look to strengthen their attacking options heading into next season- after scoring just 34 league goals in the last campaign, the second worst in the division.

These reasons for the signing were reiterated by head coach Sean Dyche, who claimed that “Youssef is a talented young striker who can add a different dimension to our squad.”

However, with the move seeing Chermiti move for a fee significantly larger than his current €3m market value- as estimated by Transfermarkt– Dyche tempered expectations on the precocious forward whilst still expressing his promising future, saying:

“He is still a teenager who is learning his game, which we will be mindful of, but we think he has the raw talent and ingredients to be a very good player and that’s why we are pleased to have signed him for Everton.”

If he is available for selection, Chermiti’s first game for his new side will come this Saturday August 12, when Everton will begin their new Premier League season by hosting Marco Silva’s Fulham at Goodison Park.

Travis Levison | Get Football