Everton know they need to sign a striker in January – and Younes Ebnoutalis is becoming increasingly difficult for Toffees officials to ignore.

David Moyes’ side drew a blank on Saturday in their latest Premier League game against Chelsea, losing for the first time this season to Chelsea.

Pedro Neto scored twice as the visitors won 2-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and fans were left frustrated by Everton’s lack of adventure and urgency.

Thierno Barry missed another golden chance to score, which has been a recurring theme, even though he’s done well at times. Moyes has played down Barry missing chances, but everyone would love for him to start putting a few more away.

Undoubtedly, Everton will already be scouring the globe for someone who might be able to ease the burden on Barry in January – and Younes Ebnoutalib might have given the Toffees’ further reason to swoop.

Everton target Younes Ebnoutalib is red-hot right now as question marks remain over Thierno Barry

Everton were linked with Ebnoutalib a few weeks ago, with the German having made an impressive start to the 2026/27 season to earn himself a place in the national team squad under Jurgen Klopp.

Ebnoutalib was on target again for his club Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday in their Bundesliga match against Koln. The striker had peeled out to the right side, and exchanged passes with Noel Aseko Nkili before confidently finishing at the near post.

He put himself about a fair bit, contesting 14 duels and winning six of them (via Sofascore).

But it’s now six goals so far for Ebnoutalib, with five of those coming in the Bundesliga. Three actually came in the first game against Union Berlin.

One statistic that is likely to be a draw for Everton is the fact that Ebnoutalib’s conversion rate is significantly higher than Barry’s so far. The German’s is 27.8% compared to just 12% for Barry so far.

Tottenham send scouts to watch Ebnoutalib

TEAMtalk have reported this afternoon that Tottenham Hotspur actually had scouts in attendance to watch Ebnoutalib for Eintracht.

Spurs were also named in the original report alongside Everton, so it seems they could make an attempt to sign him in the mid-season window.

If Everton were planning on making a move for the player then this is not the most ideal update. It’s also trickier to prise players away from other clubs in the January window, and it’s made even more difficult when other clubs are in the mix.

But Everton know the situation they’re in. A new striker must come in in January and if Ebnoutalib is the player they want, the Toffees can’t let Spurs get there first.