Everton are interested in signing a new talisman before the transfer window closes next week, with the side's start to the Premier League season and Dominic Calvert-Lewin's fresh setback exacerbating the issue.
What's the latest on Mama Balde to Everton?
According to respected journalist Alan Myers, Everton are considering a move for Bissau-Guinean striker Mama Balde, though he did stress that the interest is currently not advanced.
Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…
The Toffees are closing in on the signing of Che Adams from Southampton for £15m, though Calvert-Lewin's unreliability and Neal Maupay's woeful efforts on the pitch – scoring just once from 31 games for Everton – could force the hand of director of football Kevin Thelwell.
Balde, who plies his trade for French Ligue 2 side Troyes, would be available for just £7m following ESTAC's relegation from Ligue 1 last term.
How good is Mama Balde?
While some might feel that Troyes' plummet from the French top-flight last year should dissuade Thelwell and co from furthering their interest in Balde, aged 27, he did plunder 12 goals and supply four assists from 30 league starts.
As per FBref, the £13k-per-week ace also ranks among the top 6% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons, the top 5% for tackles, the top 13% for interceptions and the top 12% for blocks per 90, which highlights his robustness and physicality, as well as his tenacity and defensive application.
Such attributes are paramount to Everton in their current situation, having lost their opening two matches of the 2023/24 campaign and looking particularly discordant and wayward against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday, where Sean Dyche watched his side slump to a 4-0 defeat.
FBref also lists West Ham United talisman Michail Antonio as a comparable player to the 20-cap international, and if Balde could possibly emulate the veteran Hammer's role at Goodison Park, Dyche could have his hands on a trustworthy and reliable threat in the central attacking position.
Signing for West Ham from Nottingham Forest for roughly £7m in 2015, Antonio has scored 76 goals and supplied 43 assists from 278 appearances, notably instrumental in gleaning the Europa Conference League last term, scoring six goals from nine games.
At 33 years of age, Antonio ranks among the top 14% of forwards for progressive carries and the top 20% for successful take-ons per 90, with his physicality and driving force in the West Ham attack integral to his success, having also been hailed as a "complete monster" by journalist Paul Brown.
Balde has earned praise to confirm the similarities between his game and Antonio's, with teammate Tristan Dingomé saying:
"In training, he's difficult to handle. He's really strong and is the archetype of the modern striker" – very much a similar description to what you'd read about Antonio.
Ostensibly in his prime, the 5 foot 9 striker might prove to be an astute piece of business for Dyche's side; while he is not the salient name Everton supporters might crave, he could bolster the attack and provide a consistent goal threat when called upon, and therefore, the Goodison Park side would benefit from his arrival.