It appears that Sporting would be willing to sell Bas Dost this summer – but only if Everton and West Brom meet their valuation.
The good news? Everton and West Brom may have a chance of signing Sporting Lisbon goal-machine Bas Dost this summer.
The bad news? They will have to pay a ‘crazy fee’ to get him. At least that’s according to Sporting’s outspoken president Bruno de Carvalho, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio.
And that may have something to do with the £50 million release clause in Dost’s contract at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. According to Correio da Manha, Everton and West Brom are indeed interested in the Dutchman – though whether they are willing to obliterate their respective transfer records to get him is another matter entirely.
“All I can do is confirm that I don’t have the need to sell at this time,” de Carvalho said in quotes reported by Gianluca Di Marzio.
“However, if I receive a crazy offer, I will accept. If I have a good offer, and the willingness of the player, we’ll see”.
Whether Dost is even worthy of a ‘crazy offer’ is open to debate. The 27-year-old may have netted a stunning 31 goals in 28 league starts for Sporting since joining from Wolfsburg in the summer, including two hat-tricks and a four goal haul since March.
However, this old-fashioned goal poacher struggled to fire consistently during his time in the Bundesliga, the odd purple patch preceeding long-periods of anonymity.
And while his technical ability has improved in Lisbon, he is still rather ungainly, almost clumsy. The fast pace of the Premier League may not suit a player who appeared out of his depth at times amidst the relentless speed of the German top flight.
Nonetheless, with Romelu Lukaku determined to leave Everton, and West Brom recently forced to endure eight hours without a league goal, signing Dost may appeal.
Though surely not for £50m.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
