With Everton understood to be trying to bring in a couple of attacking reinforcements during the January transfer window, Arnaut Danjuma is the latest name being linked with a potential move to Goodison Park but just what might he offer the Blues?
A report from the I claims Everton are in talks with Villarreal for the 25-year-old who netted 16 goals in 34 games for the Spanish club last season and has added six more in 17 outings so far this term although other sides are in the hunt, including previous employers Bournemouth.
Reports have said director of football Kevin Thelwell has been in Villarreal to try and seal a deal but there have been other stories that suggest Bournemouth are increasingly confident of a reunion.
Danjuma is a versatile attacker who can operate down the left wing but he has been deployed mostly as a centre-forward this season. Born in Lagos to a Dutch father and Nigerian mother, his breakthrough in senior football came at Nijmegen-based outfit NEC before spending the 2018/19 season in Belgium with Club Brugge.
He has played in England previously having joined Bournemouth for £13.7million in 2019 but he failed to score in all 15 matches his played in his debut campaign on these shores. Following the Cherries’ relegation to the Championship, Danjuma fared better in 2020/21, bagging 17 goals in 37 matches before being sold to Villarreal for a fee in the region of €25million.
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Making his international debut for the Netherlands under former Everton manager Ronald Koeman in October 2018, Danjuma went almost three years without a cap before returning to the squad as a replacement for Liverpool new boy Cody Gakpo. He was not included by Louis van Gaal for the recent World Cup finals in Qatar but has netted twice in six international matches to date.
When using Comparisonator’s Me2Others feature and putting Danjuma’s statistics for this season up against existing Everton strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Neal Maupay, you can see why the Blues might be adding him to their ranks. When examining 14 offensive parameters, Calvert-Lewin and Maupay can better Danjuma in just one category apiece.
Calvert-Lewin edges him out for expected assists per 90 minutes (0.07 to 0.05) while curiously the diminutive Maupay has more headed shots (0.12 to 0) but other than that, the Villarreal man dominates. He gets in more shots (1.91) than Calvert-Lewin (1.39) and Maupay (1.35); more shots on target (0.87) to 0.35 and 0.73; makes more successful dribbles (1.74) to 1.39 and 0.61; successful attacking actions (2.61) to 1.74 and 1.35 and has a higher expected goals rate (0.47) to 0.31 and 0.27.
Danjuma’s passing figures are also impressive with more successful key passes (0.35) than Calvert-Lewin (0.17) or Maupay (0.24) and successful passes to the final third (6.27) to 4.34 and 4.89. Both Calvert-Lewin (27.45) and Maupay (27.64) have received more passes than Danjuma (21.24) but when it comes to successful passes, the Dutchman with 12.53 better Calvert-Lewin’s 9.38 but is bettered by Maupay’s 13.94.
The Everton pair have been producing more out of possession with Danjuma’s 1.39 successful defensive actions lower than Calvert-Lewin’s 2.43 or Maupay’s 2.2. He has been retaining possession better though with just 5.4 ball losses pair game compared to Calvert-Lewin’s 13.03 and Maupay’s 8.93 but the Frenchman sweeps the board against him when it comes to duels while the Yorkshireman tops him in all categories apart from defensive duels won (0.52 to 0.35).
Overall, 5ft 10in Danjuma does appear to offer a different dimension up front for Everton as it’s doubtful that he’s a like-for-like alternative to either of Frank Lampard’s existing attacking options. His record in recent seasons has been decent but with the Blues needing a target who can hit the ground running, nagging doubts might persist over Danjuma’s lack of goals during his previous stint in the Premier League.
Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
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