Is Koné the answer?

Roberto Martínez is close to making former Wigan striker Arouna Koné one of, if not the first signing of the summer. The 29 year old Ivory Coast international has raised some questions across our fan base given his age & his £5m price tag. Whilst some Evertonians see him as a great addition to our small squad, others believe he is no better than the strikers we already have at the club, and that we should be aiming higher if we are to improve on a 6th place finish.

Here’s a statistical comparison between Koné and Everton’s forwards based on their performances last season:-

Koné scored more goals and made the second most assists of the forwards in all competitions. In the league, he was second to Mirallas for shooting accuracy and clear-cut chance conversion, while having a marginally better overall chance conversion. While Koné did outperform our established forwards in key areas last season, the difference between them was not extraordinary, especially given that he played 502 more league minutes than Jelavić and more than double that amount when compared to Mirallas or Anichebe.

We certainly do need a consistent striker to push forward, but is Arouna Koné the answer? I’m not convinced.  I think the £5m we are to spend could have gone towards a younger forward with more potential. At 29 years old, he is hardly a player for the future, but I expect him to make a fairly quick impact and 15 goals shouldn’t be an unrealistic target.