The striker scored 12 goals in 27 appearances for the club last season.
Everton manager Marco Silva has confirmed that striker Oumar Niasse is in his plans for the upcoming season, according to a report from the Liverpool Echo.
The Echo claims that Silva is keeping the 28-year-old, who has scored five goals so far in pre-season, in his squad for the season because he offers a different option to the other strikers at Goodison Park.
The Senegalese forward joined the Toffees from Lokomotiv Moscow for £13.5 million in January 2016 but has struggled to break into the first-team and made just 32 appearances for the club since.
Niasse played only 152 minutes of football in his first season at Everton and was told by then-manager Ronald Koeman to look for a new club in the summer of 2016.
Having stayed at Everton, in October 2016 the striker was allegedly made to train with the U23s and had his personal locker revoked.
Niasse joined Hull City on loan for the remainder of the season in January 2017 and then returned to have his most convincing season in an Everton shirt in 2017/18, scoring 12 times in 27 appearances for the Toffees.
In Silva, he appears to have found a manager who believes in him. The Portuguese was the Hull boss who took him on loan and now appears to have faith that he can have an impact this season.
Beyond Cenk Tosun, Everton lack proven striking options, with Sandro Ramires not looking convincing last season and the young Dominic Calvert-Lewin not yet the finished article.
The announcement surrounding Niasse’s future seems to have split the Goodison faithful, with some suggesting the striker could be a useful player this season and others arguing it shows the size of the gap between the club and their Merseyside rivals:
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