Dyche wants Everton to re-enter race for Serie A striker after seeing £22m January bid turned down

Sean Dyche has reportedly advised Everton to ‘break the bank’ to land Udinese centre-forward Beto this summer, who they attempted to sign in January.

The former Burnley manager was appointed as the Toffees’ replacement for Frank Lampard last month, just two days before deadline day.

The Blues were linked with several striker targets such as Coventry City’s Viktor Gyokeres, Southampton’s Che Adams and former Chelsea man Michy Batsuayi, but ultimately were the only Premier League club not to make a signing in the winter window.

Despite this being a huge disappointment, Dyche must, for now, put all his focus on getting Everton out of yet another relegation battle.

The Merseyside club currently sit in 16th place in the Premier League table after winning just five of their 23 opening fixtures.

However, the English manager has got off to an excellent start, beating lead leaders Arsenal in his first game in charge, before defeating Leeds United 1-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday.

This saw the Toffees move out of the relegation zone, but they still have a big challenge ahead to avoid the drop.

A lack of goals has been a key factor in their struggles, netting the joint-least goals of any team in the top flight.

Their number nine Dominic Calvert-Lewin has once again struggled to maintain fitness, while summer signing Neal Maupay has scored just once so far. With that in mind, they clearly need a new centre-forward for next season.

Now, according to CaughtOffside, Dyche wants Everton to get back in the mix for Udinese striker Beto.

As mentioned, on transfer deadline day the Toffees made a last-ditch attempt to bring in the Portuguese player, after tabling a £22m bid, but the Italian side did not want to let him go with no time to find a replacement.

Beto has been in decent form this season, netting seven goals in 23 Serie A outings, which isn’t a bad return considering Udinese are a mid-table side at best.

The report adds that 6ft 4 Beto has the physical attributes, the mentality and eye for goal to succeed in the Premier League. He would also fit in very well to a Dyche system, which generally revolves around having a target man up front.

However, he won’t come cheap. Everton will have to ‘break the bank’ to get Udinese to sanction a sale, because Udinese think Beto is a ‘premium’ Serie A attacker.

It is not mentioned what his summer price tag will be, but most likely it will need to be in excess of the £22m the Toffees previously offered.

Firstly, Everton need to stay in the Premier League to have any chance of a deal going through, with a crucial clash against Aston Villa coming up on Saturday at Goodison Park.

READ MORE: Leeds United, Everton and Bournemouth set to battle for 14-goal Championship striker this summer