Everton are in desperate need of reinforcements in their attacking threat following a difficult relegation scrap last season and now a new update has emerged on the club's pursuit of a top transfer target.
What's the latest on Everton's interest in Viktor Gyokeres?
According to the Daily Mail, the Toffees could use Ellis Simms as a bargaining chip to get a deal done to sign Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres.
As per the report, the Merseyside outfit remain keen on making Gyokeres their frontman next season, with huge interest in Simms from a number of Championship clubs including the Sky Blues, as well as Ipswich Town and Swansea City.
It's thought that Everton are looking to offer their young goalscorer plus cash to secure the Sweden international's signature this summer, but are facing competition from a whole host of rivals, ranging from Sporting Lisbon to the likes of Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United.
Should Everton swap Simms for Gyokeres?
There is no doubt that Sean Dyche will be making it his priority to strengthen the forward line during the summer transfer window after Everton struggled to cause little threat in front of goal last season.
Only Wolves scored fewer goals (31) than the Merseysiders (34) over the 38-game campaign which was a massive contributor to their struggle to maintain their Premier League status and left them teetering on the edge just two points clear of the drop on the final day.
Even the three relegated sides found the net more regularly, which is damning.
As a result, the signing of a prolific and trustworthy striker will be the bare minimum for Everton to secure ahead of next season and if Gyokeres could continue his incredible goal-scoring form with a step up to the top flight it would certainly improve performances.
Coventry's goalscoring machine has a reported £25m price tag and was the second top goalscorer in the Championship last season scoring a whopping 21 goals, as well as registering 10 assists with a goal contribution every 129 minutes over his 48 league appearances, an output that would be highly valued at Goodison Park.
In comparison, his positional peers at Everton did not even come close to his output with Neal Maupay and Ellis Simms only scoring one goal each in the Premier League, whilst Dominic Calvert-Lewin found the back of the net only twice as numerous injuries plagued his ability to get into form.
Gyokeres has earned huge praise for his stand-out performances in the second tier, with Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray even comparing the target man to Erling Haaland:
"He looks a yard more powerful and a yard quicker than everyone else, he’s a really confident boy.
"I don’t want to say he should test himself in the Premier League but who is like him in the Premier League at the moment?
"Who is too fast, too strong and too big, you would suggest Haaland is like that and Gyokeres in this league looks a yard faster and stronger than the players he plays against in the Championship.
"The way he buys himself space to shoot is pretty impressive and Coventry did well to hold onto him, he looks a really talented boy."
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Everton to offer Simms as part of a deal to sign Gyokeres this summer as the striker could make an immediate impact in the final third to ensure the team can compete comfortably and kill games next season.