Everton linked to a winger that has been watched by Barcelona

Comments from Dusan Tadic’s agent that Barcelona have previously been to watch the FC Twente star in action may need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but there is little doubt that Everton will be strengthening their squad if signing the winger.

Roberto Martinez has clearly identified which part of his squad needs reinforcement next, with Tadic not the first wide man to be linked with a switch to Goodison Park in January.

However, unlike Aidan McGeady and Tom Ince, Martinez does seem prepared to pay to bring in the Serbian, with the other two targeted being out of contract in the summer.

The speculation is that £12m has been set aside to sign Tadic, who has scored seven goals and laid on seven assists for Twente in the Eredivisie this season.

Everton don’t really have a left winger with an urgency to get to the byline and Tadic would offer this to the squad, as Steven Pienaar tends to prefer drifting inside from this position to influence play.

But, Pienaar’s influence is up for debate, as he only has one goal and one assist from 16 appearances for Everton this season.

Instead, his biggest uses appear to be winning free-kicks, from which Everton have proved especially deadly, and providing the space for the attacking full-back to burst into on the overlap.

With Romelu Lukaku leading the line, a trickier winger that likes to swing in crosses could bring an extra dimension to Everton’s play and be a boost to their chances of cracking the Premier League top four this season.

Everton’s odds are currently 7/2 to finish in the top four this season and in their favour is that in five of the last seven campaigns, the team to start the new year in fourth spot has gone on to finish in the Champions League qualification places.