For the last couple of seasons down at Goodison Park, Everton have lacked a potent goalscorer in attack – the days of Romelu Lukaku scoring twenty plus for the Toffees a distant memory, with Dwight McNeil coming in as the top scorer for Sean Dyche's men last campaign with a passable seven goals.
The Toffees have not been helped by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's woeful injury record of recent times, the once promising starlet – who bagged an encouraging 16 goals for the Merseysiders during the 2020-21 season in the Premier League – is often sidelined with a long-term injury knock now rather than leading the line for Dyche's men.
The Englishman has been a regular fixture for the Toffees in the starting eleven this campaign – after unfortunately suffering a broken cheekbone in August – scoring two goals from six league outings.
All those connected with Everton will hope Calvert-Lewin can put these injury troubles to one side of his mind and transform back into a deadly striker again over a full campaign, with a creative midfielder from Turkey being linked with a switch to Goodison Park that could aid and assist the 26-year-old forward to reach that level again in Kerem Akturkoglu.
Are Everton interested in Kerem Akturkoglu?
TEAMTalk are reporting that a whole host of Premier League clubs are circling for Akturkoglu, the Galatasaray winger wanted by Aston Villa, West Ham United, Brighton and Hove Albion and many others on top of Everton's interest in the player.
Valued at £13m, as per CIES Football Observatory, it could prove to be a shrewd purchase by the Merseysiders to bring the Turkish midfielder to Goodison Park – Galatasaray's number seven having been "impressive", according to Manchester United journalist Samuel Luckhurst, when his side travelled to Old Trafford, the 25-year-old a nuisance all evening for the Red Devils defenders.
Adding new reinforcements that could enhance Everton's creativity would be perfect for Calvert-Lewin, who would surely benefit from the tricky Turkish winger leaving Istanbul behind for Merseyside.
How good is Kerem Akturkoglu?
Away from his one-off starring role in the Champions League group stage, in which he got on the scoresheet to level the tie at 2-2, the 23-cap international has been a consistent performer for his side in the Süper Lig over the last few seasons.
He's notched up 136 appearances for the Istanbul-based giants, registering an impressive 34 goals and 37 assists.
This season alone, Akturkoglu has had a part to play in eight of his side's 18 goals in the league as Galatasaray attempt to overcome fierce rivals Fenerbahce at the top of the division – scoring three goals and assisting five along the way.
Comparatively, the likes of Dwight McNeil, Jack Harrison and Arnaut Danjuma for the Toffees only have a combined two assists between them – the Everton ranks crying out for more creativity to help Calvert-Lewin recapture his previous goalscoring heights.
He could even help Everton score more just from his own efforts alone, hitting the target from ten of his 21 shots on goal for his current Turkish employers this season per FBRef – sharing the goal load out as a result.
Akturkoglu's interest from Premier League teams would only have intensified after his performance versus Man United, Erik Ten Hag's Red Devils surprisingly beaten by Galatasaray 3-2 on a bruising night for the Dutch head coach's ego in the Old Trafford dugout.
Although he would lose possession 17 times in total in this contest – as per Sofascore – the 5 foot 8 dynamo was always available to receive the ball to push his team forward and was an effective thorn in the side that the hosts struggled to contain.
If Everton could beat other suitors to seal the Turkish winger's signature when January comes around, they could have a real star on their hands who could boost Calvert-Lewin's performances subsequently.