Everton are in the market for new players as they look to put a terrible 2022/23 season behind them, but boss Sean Dyche cannot bring in new recruits for the sake of it.
That is a category Crystal Palace Jean-Philippe Mateta – a possible loan target for the Toffees this summer, according to French outlet So Foot – very much fits into.
Who are Everton looking to sign this summer?
Everton have already been linked with a whole array of players since retaining their Premier League status at the end of last month, including the likes of El Bilal Toure, Wout Weghorst and Tammy Abraham.
As the second-lowest goalscorers (34) in the division last season, behind only Wolves (31), and eighth in terms of goals conceded (57), there is not really a position Everton could not do with strengthening in the coming months – a goalkeeper aside.
Smart recruitment has not exactly been a buzz phrase around Goodison Park in recent years, though, with Everton far more accustomed to splashing out large on a flop than spending wisely on a player for the future.
While he may still only be aged 25, meaning his best years should be ahead of him, Mateta has done little in his time in English football to suggest he will provide Everton with value for their money.
How has Mateta performed at Crystal Palace?
Signed for a reported fee of €18m (£15.5m) in January 2020, initially on an 18-month loan arrangement, Palace have not yet seen a return on their investment.
Mateta has scored just eight Premier League goals in 58 appearances and netted just once in his final 30 games of the 2022/23 season. Despite those disappointing figures, Everton, Torino, Valencia and PSV are all reportedly weighing up a move for the former France U21 international.
In last season's Premier League campaign alone, the former Lyon player scored twice from 27 shots and had a shot-on-target percentage of 25.9. To put that in some perspective, no Everton attacker who featured regularly last season failed to hit the target as often.
Those problems go beyond simply finding the net, with football reporter Raj Chohan describing Mateta's decision-making on transitions as "woeful".
Mateta's numbers are very similar to those of Weghorst, another rumoured target for the hierarchy at Goodison.
Like the Palace man, however, he has been a high-profile flop and failed to set the world alight during a temporary stint at Manchester United.
That said, the Dutchman did just about edge out his positional peer for pass completion percentage (72.9 compared to 69.8) and goal-creating actions per 90 minutes (0.23 and 0.12 respectively).
Pivotally, he also scored more goals last term. Although Weghorst netted just once for United, he bagged eight in 16 Super Lig appearances for Besiktas in the first half of the season.
Everton fans may joke that any option is an improvement on what they currently have, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin's fitness issues proving to be a huge concern, but given Mateta's weekly wage of £50k and a likely transfer fee in the region of £8m if a permanent move is forged, they will be better off biding their time and looking elsewhere.