Mauro Icardi Emerges as Everton's Late Striker Solution
Everton’s search for a striker has taken a familiar turn: late, tense, and now focused on a big name with an even bigger past.
Mauro Icardi, once the ruthless spearhead of Inter Milan and a Champions League regular with Paris Saint-Germain and Galatasaray, has been offered to the Merseyside club as a free agent. If the move happens, it would be his first crack at the Premier League – and it would arrive at a moment of clear need for David Moyes.
Everton’s number nine problem
Right now, Thierno Barry is the only natural centre-forward in Everton’s senior squad. That is not squad planning; that is a gamble. And recent performances have shown it. Barry is raw, energetic, and willing, but still learning the craft and wasteful in front of goal.
The failed deadline-day move for Folarin Balogun underlined just how badly the club wanted another finisher. When that deal collapsed, Everton were forced to pivot straight into the free-agent market.
That is where Icardi comes in.
According to TyC Sports journalist German Garcia Grova, speaking on 7 September, Icardi has been formally offered to Everton. His representatives are understood to be open to a move to Goodison, seeing the Blues as a realistic next step in the 33-year-old’s career.
A proven scorer, even in decline
Icardi is not the explosive, headline-grabbing figure he once was in Serie A, but he is still a striker who knows exactly where the goal is.
Last season at Galatasaray, he scored 16 goals in all competitions, largely operating as an impact option from the bench with Victor Osimhen preferred as the starting striker. In the Super Lig alone, he struck 14 times, converting chances at a rate of 24 per cent and outperforming his expected goals of 10.53, according to Sofascore.
That matters. It shows that even with reduced minutes and advancing years, his finishing instinct remains sharp. Give him a chance, and he still punishes teams.
He also comes with recent high-level experience. Icardi faced Liverpool and Juventus in the Champions League last season, holding his own against elite defenders. That kind of pedigree does not vanish overnight, even if the legs are a little heavier.
Why Moyes might roll the dice
For Moyes, the equation is simple. Everton need goals, and they need someone who lives in the penalty area.
Icardi would not bring pace in behind or relentless pressing. Those days are gone. He is not the quickest, not the flashiest, and he will not transform the way Everton play.
What he would bring is clarity. A specialist. A penalty-box striker whose game is built around movement in tight spaces, timing, and ruthless finishing.
With Barry still adjusting to the demands of top-level football and struggling for composure in front of goal, the presence of a seasoned finisher could change the dynamic of Everton’s attack. Half-chances suddenly become real chances. Crosses and cut-backs gain purpose when there is a predator waiting.
For a side that has laboured to turn possession into goals, that profile has obvious appeal.
Timing, risk and the next move
The question now is not whether Icardi fits a need. He clearly does. The question is timing.
Everton must decide whether to move quickly and bring him in as a free agent now, bedding him into the squad before the winter schedule bites, or hold their nerve until January and revisit other targets when the market opens again.
Wait, and there is the risk that another club swoops in, tempted by a free-scoring veteran with no transfer fee attached. Move now, and Moyes ties a chunk of his attacking plan to a 33-year-old whose best years are behind him but whose finishing touch has not deserted him yet.
For a club short on goals and short on options, how long can they afford to hesitate?
