Beto transfer could be Kevin Thelwell's best work yet at Everton

Everton’s summer-long search for a striker to ease their goal-scoring issues appears to have reached its conclusion.

With the transfer window closing this week, the Toffees, who sit bottom of the Premier League after the first three games and having the unwanted tag of being the only side in the division yet to score a goal, were desperately in need of fire power.

A number of names have been linked, and while the club did land Youssef Chermiti from Sporting CP earlier this month on a £15m deal, the 19-year-old Portuguese is seen as something of a work in progress, not yet ready to play the leading man. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin continuing to be beset by continued injury woes, and with Neal Maupay struggling badly for form, Everton’s need for a forward was crucial.

The club have turned to another Portuguese forward, Beto, with the 25-year old set to be confirmed as an Everton player imminently after arriving on Merseyside over the bank holiday weekend for his medical ahead of sealing a €25m (£21.4m) move from Serie A side Udinese that could rise up to €30m (£4.3m) if add-ons are met.

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His goal record in Portuguese and Italian football has been strong, and like Chermiti he fits the age profile of having a high ceiling for development that could, in time, see the transfer fee outlay proved something of a bargain. That will be the hope, anyway.

Everton boss Sean Dyche and the recruitment team led by director of football Kevin Thelwell have had a tough summer. They have, in effect, been operating with not one but more like two hands tied behind their backs, with the club’s