Everton Football Club linked to Sardar Azmoun

Following the investment of Iranian businessman, Farhad Moshiri, who promised to bolster Everton’s transfer budget, Everton are now linked with an Iranian striker, Sardar Azmoun according to the Tehran Times.

Azmoun has been dubbed as the ‘Iranian Messi’ although he shares very few qualities of Messi other than goalscoring ability. He is taller than Messi by about 5 inches (12.7 cm) being 6 feet tall (1.83m) and doesn’t come close to having the ball control and dribbling ability that Messi has. If anything, he shares a similar playing style to Zlatan Ibrahimovic with his aerial ability, creative play and bursts of acceleration.

Azmoun is currently playing at the Russian league side, FC Rostov although he is on loan from Rubin Kazan. The 21 year old has scored 4 times in 15 appearances for the club which does not properly testify to the goalscoring talent this young player has. In international duty for Iran, Azmoun has scored 8 goals in 14 appearances over a two year span on the senior team; a more fitting goalscoring ratio.

Sardar Azmoun has been linked with Arsenal and Stoke in the past although a deal was never made. In 2014 after impressing for the Rubin Kazan first team, Arsenal bid £2 million for the then 19 year old, but Azmoun never made a move to Arsenal or any of the other top flight clubs that had been interested in him including, A.C. Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Barcelona.

It would raise eyebrows if Everton were to buy the Iranian striker just after the Iranian, Farhad Moshiri, had bought 49.9% of the shares to become the majority share holder, but it appears as if this signing would not be made just to raise Everton’s profile in the Middle East as Azmoun has an abundance of talent.