Kone a worthy short-term striker to keep Everton in the top six

Given that Victor Anichebe and Nikica Jelavic managed only 13 Premier League goals between them last season, it is no surprise that Roberto Martinez wishes to increase his striking options for his first campaign in charge of Everton.

It seems that Arouna Kone is going to be this striker, with Everton beating Newcastle to his £5m capture and there are reasons to believe that he is capable of grabbing the goals to ensure Everton finish in the top six for the second season running at 11/5.

Kone netted 11 in Wigan’s doomed Premier League campaign last season and previous to that he helped himself to 15 at Levante, where his goals arguably transformed them from mid-table nobodies into Europa League qualifiers.

Expecting Kone to push Everton onto the next stage and finish among the Champions League places is probably a bridge too far though, but can be backed at 16/1.

Kone does not come across as a typical Everton signing, as £5m is a fair outlay for them for a player with pretty much no sell-on value.

However, the fact that that Martinez has undoubtedly thoroughly scouted him once before and knows of his mental and physical capabilities is a plus.

Martinez would struggle to gain the same amount of knowledge before the start of a season of many other striking options across Europe, meaning that such a player would represent a far more substantial risk.

The move also makes sense as Wigan and Everton are no more than 25 miles from each other and so Kone will not have to up sticks and have all of the demands of moving home.

Finally, Anichebe’s traits are more physical and there is a strong likelihood that his best attributes will not naturally fit into Martinez’ preferred passing style, while Jelavic does not possess the dribbling skills of Kone that are of a great use for a manager who prefers to play on the counter attack.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.