Beto is a name being heavily linked with Everton at the moment, but who is the Portuguese striker and what does he bring to the table?
The Mirror claimed last month that Everton submitted an offer worth £20m, plus a further £3m in bonuses, for Beto, though this was 'dismissed' by the Serie A side who insisted paying the player's £35m release clause was the only way to prize him away.
Udinese's head of scouting told Sportitalia: "We turned down a very important offer for Beto from a Premier League team. We thought it would be better to keep him in Udine for six months. He's recovering from his injury and can still score many goals. Then maybe at the end of the season...
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"He will have the opportunity to go and play for a big team, as will [Victor] Osimhen. A Premier team or PSG could take him. My advice is to stay at Napoli because he's already in a big team."
With the Blues struggling up front this season though, there could be some more interest coming the way of Beto during the summer.
The 25-year-old began his career at Portuguese outfit Olimpico Montijo, scoring 21 goals in 34 appearances in the Portuguese third tier.
Portimonense then signed the marksman, who initially scored 13 times in just 22 appearances whilst competing in the Liga Revelacao - the equivalent to the Premier League Two. After impressing at youth level, Beto was given his chance in the first team in June 2019, featuring as an 87th-minute substitute in a goalless home draw against Belenenses SAD.
From there, Beto bagged his first goal in the Portuguese top division with an astute finish against Porto in a 3-1 away defeat in November 2020. He added 10 more goals during the 2020/2021 season, finishing top of the club’s goalscoring charts that term.
Moving forward to the 2021/2022 season, the striker completed a move to Italian club Udinese on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy, and got off to a dream start as he scored four times in his first 10 Serie A appearances. Beto impressed later in the season as he netted a hat-trick against Cagliari, finishing this season with a return of 11 goals, averaging one every 2.5 games.
Beto reaped the rewards of his efforts by being named in his country's 55-man preliminary squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Although he would miss out on the final 26-man squad, it was nevertheless an encouraging sign, with Portugal rich in attacking talent with the likes of Joao Felix, Andre Silva, Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 25-year-old has nine goals from 27 Serie A appearances so far this season, and will have no doubt caught the eye of a few Everton fans on Saturday after scoring in Udinese's 3-1 win over AC Milan.
The striker is currently under contract at Udinese until 2026, leaving the Italians in the box seat when negotiating transfer fees.
In terms of assets, Beto stands at six foot four inches, possessing a powerful turn of pace. All things considered, Beto definitely has the characteristics for the Premier League but his goalscoring ability may still need some work. Only time and experience will tell, but he may prove to be a shrewd signing if Everton can secure a deal this summer.
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