Everton readying smash and grab for Manchester United forward Dyche failed to sign before

Everton reportedly have their eye on Manchester United forward Anthony Elanga, and are readying an aggressive approach to land their target.

In January, it was evident that the Toffees required reinforcements to aid their survival hopes. Sean Dyche inherited a squad that was lacking in goals – by the end of the season, top goalscorer Dwight McNeil’s tally was just seven.

The issues were compounded in that Dyche was only given the job a few days before the window shut. As such, while he did seek to add an attacker or two to change the fortunes of his side, the small window he was given made things very difficult.

That wasn’t the only reason he was unable to improve his squad, though. Reports in February – after he attempted to sign Elanga from United – suggested the manager was unable to ‘persuade’ the Red Devils to let him go.

Miraculously, though only one side scored less than them, Everton managed to stay in the Premier League, scraping to survival by two points.

As such, Dyche seems keen once again to add to his side to ensure they’re not in as sticky a patch by the end of next season.

Foot Mercato reports the Toffees have Elanga ‘in the sights’ yet again. This time, though, they’ll have a better crack at bringing him to Goodison Park.

Indeed, the report states they ‘want to go there in a more offensive way’, essentially suggesting they’ll put up a good fight for the forward, believing they can convince United into the sale.

Whether or not they can do remains to be seen. However, there may well be more chance than before that Elanga will be allowed to leave the club.

United’s reluctance to allow that in January could owe to the injuries to some forward players, along with losing Cristiano Ronaldo and replacing him with a lesser talent in Wout Weghorst.

With a whole summer window to ensure they have more players to choose from up top, and after Elanga played 27 Premier League minutes in the second half of the season, there seems much more chance he’ll be able to leave.

And a move to Everton isn’t quite as daunting as it might have been mid-season. They can’t be in relegation trouble yet, given the season hasn’t started, and they’re clearly eager to add star talent to the squad to ensure they aren’t at all.

Elanga could be one of the players that inspires them out of that cycle this season.

READ MORE: Dictionary365: E is for Elite, England, Equalisers, Europa, Euros and Everton