Everton manager Sean Dyche has two more games to preserve the Merseyside outfit's coveted top-flight status, having taken the reins at the Premier League season's midpoint and keeping within touching distance of safety.
Everton have fallen by the wayside over the past few years and narrowly staved off the threat of relegation last year, but jubilation was short-lived following the sale of endeared forward Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur for £60m and subsequent purchase of £15m Brighton & Hove Albion talisman Neal Maupay, who has scored one solitary goal this season.
Indeed, the Goodison Park side have failed to avoid the terror of a relegation dogfight this time around too, though a recent 5-1 demolition of the Seagulls lifted the club from immediate danger, now perched in 17th place with two fixtures to play, one place and one point above 18th-placed Leeds United.
Should survival be secured, Dyche will swiftly turn his attention to bolstering the offensive ranks, his outfit boasting just 32 goals from 36 matches in the top-flight this term and with key talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin missing large portions of the campaign due to his injury woes.
As such, talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has reported that West Ham United striker Michail Antonio is 'in their sights', should they indeed secure a Premier League spot next term.
Should Everton sign Michail Antonio?
Antonio has been an admirable stalwart in east London, scoring 75 goals and providing 43 assists from 273 appearances since signing for the Hammers for £7m from Nottingham Forest in 2015.
And while the forward boasts 14 goals across all competitions this term, having plundered six strikes in the Europa Conference League, at 33-years-old clinching his signature would not be an auspicious move for Dyche and co as they seek to navigate away from danger and push for a place higher up the table next year.
The seven-cap Jamaica international has recorded a lowly 6.67 rating in the Premier League this year, starting just 20 times, and while he has plundered five goals and supplied three assists, he is only averaging 1.2 shots and 0.5 key passes per match, having also missed seven big chances this term and branded "shocking" by West Ham TV's Dan Lawless.
Candidly, while Antonio has enjoyed fruitful fortunes in Europe, against an ostensibly easier crop of opposition than the Premier League, should he switch to Everton he would not be competing in such a competition, rather, potentially embroiled in a scrap for survival again next season.
If Calvert-Lewin's fitness doesn't hold up, it could well be Antonio who ranks among the bottom 35% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues for rate of non-penalty goals, as per FBref, and Maupay competing for the spot as the club's offensive focal point, which does not bode well for the performance of the team.
If owner Farhad Moshiri was to sign the £85k-per-week veteran, it could replicate the misfiring deal for Salomon Rondon, who joined the fray on Merseyside at 31-years-old in 2021 from Chinese outfit Dalian Professional.
Another ageing forward, Rondon would score just three times – twice against lowly Boreham Wood – across two campaigns for Everton and offer measly assistance in the final third. Another brutish offensive threat cut from the same cloth as Antonio, there was, unfortunately, a stark lack of end product during his time at Goodison.
With the Irons ace approaching the twilight phase of his career and noticeably waning in the Premier League, it would be a move best left on the rumour mill.
