Swift Scout: Youssef Chermiti
With Everton closing in on Youssef Chermiti, Alfie Biggs analyses the 19-year-old forward.
Everton are closing in on their third signing of the transfer window.
Youseff Chermiti is in line to sign for the Toffees in the coming days, for a reported £13million (€15m) transfer fee.
It’s a move that has very much come out of the blue, with Chermiti only making his senior debut last season for Sporting CP.
This breakdown includes:
Who is Youssef Chermiti?
A look at last season’s performances.
Chermiti’s profile. How he compares to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and some other reported Everton targets.
Insight from a Sporting CP expert.
How he would fit in.
WHO IS YOUSSEF CHERMITI?
Chermiti joined Sporting’s academy at the Under 13s level in 2016.
He was promoted to the B team at 17, in 2021.
He began training with the first team in November 2022.
Chermiti made his debut made against Benfica in January.
He has represented Portugal at youth level from the Under 15s through to the Under 19s, netting three goals in four games for the Under 19s.
LAST SEASON’S PERFORMANCES
Sixteen appearances, with nine of those being Starts, in Portugal’s top flight.
Chermiti played a total of 844 minutes.
He scored three goals and provided two assists.
Sporting nominally played a 3-4-3, with either an unorthodox number nine such as Francisco Trincao or Pedro Goncalves, or a more traditional striker, in Paulinho.
CHERMITI’S PROFILE AND COMPARISONS
Statistics are pretty redundant at this point due to such little game time and thus they should not be relied upon too heavily.
However, these are some that I’ve picked out to establish some sort of picture.
Chermiti takes a high volume of shots. He takes the majority of these shots from close range.
Generally plays shorter passes; knock-downs and flick-ons.
Rarely involved in general play, but comes alive in the box.
That being said, he is a good ball carrier when given the opportunity and he is aerially strong.
The comparisons to Calvert-Lewin are obvious.
His height and ability to back into defenders is comparable to Everton’s number nine, but Chermiti uses his body impressively for such a young age. He often takes an extra unnecessary touch, though, which he would struggle to do at a higher level.
Even if isolated, with few options to lay off, Chermiti has the ability to spin his defender. This suits Everton well, as they look to progress up the pitch in a more direct fashion under Dyche.
“Good feet for a big man” is a cliche, of course, but in this case largely correct. He makes some lovely touches to evade the press, or a creative flick to find a team-mate in a tight space. He’s a very confident player.
He does not look to use his weaker left foot much, and he often drifts out to the right of centre to shoot across goal. He has decent pace to stretch defences and clever movement off the centre-backs into the channels. Chermiti’s shot variation could do with some work, though that should come with experience.
He isn’t the cleanest of finishers, which again is comparable to Calvert-Lewin.
His movement is excellent and he always seems to beat his marker to the ball. He combines back post with front post runs. While he is strong in the air, his finishes with his head often disappoints. His large frame also allows for him when moving across the front post to reach further than his markers and latch onto chances.
Here’s Chermiti compared with Calvert-Lewin, Neal Maupay and another reported Everton target, Che Adams.
INSIGHTS
Sam Fonseca, founder of All Things Alvalade, spoke to Toffee TV to discuss Chermti’s strengths and weaknesses.
“A lot of people were surprised when Chermiti was called up, because he didn’t have a prolific record in the B team. He had six months left on his contract, so Ruben Amorim said to him ‘If you sign a new contract, we won’t sign a new striker, and you’ll be second.’ So the contract was signed and he made his debut against Benfica away – pushed into the deep end. He didn’t score but he had a chance, he was put through one-on-one, he had a chance to make it, and he hit it over the bar. Due to experience, it’s sort of what you expect.
“He played a few games here and there, scored three times – including against Porto. After that Porto game, their coach Sergio Conceicao went over to Chermiti to tell him he played well. Coming from Conceicao, it’s quite a big compliment for such a young player.
“He doesn’t have great technical ability, his touch is pretty bad, but he is so raw and it’s not his fault he was pushed into it. I do think Chermiti will be good but I didn’t want him to develop at Sporting. I wanted him to develop on loan at a mid-table team or maybe in the B team.
“Everton fans will have to be patient. He’s not the finished product, he’s very raw. He’s got the potential to get there. With Sean Dyche we’ve seen players like Chris Wood be a mainstay. Whether he can reach that level in the Premier League I’m not sure, but the skillset is definitely similar – maybe Dyche could mould him to be a player like that. It is a risky deal for Everton, because I know their finances aren’t the greatest. It could end up backfiring.
“In terms of a long-term project, Chermiti is a good one to have. But with all the managers they’ve had recently – Rafael Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti, Frank Lampard, now Sean Dyche – patience is required. Patience is the key word. It’s good that Everton have gone for a project player instead of spending on the finished product. If they give the time, I think it’ll be a good result, but it’s going to be a big gamble on a raw prospect.”
HOW CHERMITI FITS IN
The 19-year-old is obviously raw and some of the above quotes are certainly damning.
However, I personally do disagree somewhat with the technical aspect, due to an unorthodox build he may look less controlled purely due to aesthetics.
The fee is perhaps slightly higher than I’d like, but if the downpayment is low, it suits Everton.
With the addition of another striker to allow Chermiti to settle, I think it’s a really positive move and something Evertonians can be excited about.
However, if he would be the sole back-up to Calvert-Lewin then I wouldn’t be so thrilled, as I’m not sure he’s ready for that amount of exposure. Ultimately, it’s good to see the recruitment department be allowed to go ahead with a key part of their job — and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
By Alfie Biggs