Everton, if they are to enjoy transfer success this summer, will have to operate in parts of the market where nobody else will look.
After all, for all the scouting prowess they may have, if a deal is dragged out or made public, there is little incentive they can offer players to tempt them to join the Toffees over other attractive parties.
No longer are they a powerhouse of English football, nor do they have the funds to bring them in regardless. Kevin Thelwell and Sean Dyche must find players with a point to prove, and who actually want to join the club, with Everton’s interest in Kalvin Phillips one such example of preying on a downtrodden asset.
Scouring the Championship and the Dutch league are just two areas that would make sense, but even in the Bundesliga there is untapped talent just waiting to be exploited.
Well, at last it seems like they have opened their eyes to the possibilities of the German top flight.
Everton show interest in Jan-Niklas Beste
The latest on Everton’s transfer venture into Germany comes courtesy of Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, who took to X to issue an update on the future of Jan-Niklas Beste.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a stellar campaign out wide for 1. FC Heidenheim, and even earned a call-up to the German national squad back in March before injury curtained what would have been his debut at that level.
A meteoric rise in his home country, but someone who remains a relative unknown in England. Perfect.
The reporter would write: ‘A transfer in the summer is still planned for Jan-Niklas #Beste! Contract until 2025. Discussions are ongoing. Specific inquiries from: @VillarrealCF, @acffiorentina, @GenoaCFC, @Everton and @Galatasaray!
‘However at this stage, the 25 y/o winger (8 goals/13 assists) tends to prefer a move within the Bundesliga. Heidenheim would like to receive over €10m (£8.5m). A realistic selling price is currently €5-7m.’
Who is Jan-Niklas Beste?
It has been a long journey for Beste to make it to where he is today, but the various setbacks suffered are what makes him such a talented and hard-working winger for his side.
Having started out his career with Borussia Dortmund, a lack of game time saw him shipped out on loan to various clubs including Emmen, Werder Bremen and Jahn Regensburg.
Only at the latter did he start to showcase the potential that lay within, and ever since joining FC Heidenheim in 2022, he has shone.
In fact, in the season just gone, he scored eight and assisted 13, with a goal contribution tally in the Bundesliga that is over two times as much as Everton’s leading contributor, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (11).
This would mark an incredibly shrewd piece of business, with very low risk but unlimited potential reward. Thelwell is, at the very least, operating in the right markets.