Everton keeping tabs on Sporting striker Bas Dost

Premier League outfit Everton are interested in bringing Sporting striker Bas Dost to Goodison Park this summer, according to reports in Portugal (via Sport Witness).

The 27-year-old goal machine has been in scintillating form in the Primeira Liga this term, scoring 31 goals in just 29 appearances for Sporting, helping them to third place in the division with just two matches to go.

With two hat-tricks in his last five appearances for the club, including a trio in their 3-2 success at Braga last weekend, the Dutch international is once again proving himself to be one of the most prolific forwards in Europe, having netted countless times at both Heerenveen and Wolfsburg in the past.

And it’s form which has alerted Ronald Koeman’s Everton, who look set to lose striker Romelu Lukaku this summer, and thus certainly need reinforcements up front if they are to sustain a challenge to the Premier League’s top six next term.

23-year-old Lukaku is the division’s top goal-scorer with 24 goals so far this season, yet hasn’t agreed a new deal at Goodison Park, and doesn’t look likely to between now and the summer.

Thus, Koeman will be on the lookout for a forward who can replicate Lukaku’s form in next season’s Premier League, and Dost clearly fits the bill.

And given that the Toffees have reportedly been monitoring his progress for five years now, the 27-year-old is clearly someone the club hold in great light, and although he has a release clause of €60 million, it’s a deal Koeman should look to complete this summer.