Why the latest Oumar Niasse rumour makes no sense

As noted by our Royal Blue Mersey Instagram and Twitter pages (which I hope you’re following by now), Oumar Niasse has been liked with a move to Turkish side Galatasaray by Turkish source Gunes. There are a number of reasons why this rumor seems very far fetched and unlikely to happen.

The English (buying) window is closed

We can’t replace him until January if he leaves now. Given the still unproven nature of Dominic Calvert-Lewin there’s no way Everton would be wise to let go their primary backup to starter Cenk Tosun.

Oumar Niasse is a proven goalscorer in the English Premier League and though he is not a star or even the person I want starting, having his energy, positive attitude, and most importantly ability off the bench is a huge asset.

Because England decided to close their window before the rest of the world, if Niasse walks out the door, we cannot replace him for the early part of the season which would be extremely risky. Of course we could always play Sandro Ramirez instead.

His relationship with Marco Silva

Everton is not the first stop in Marco Silva’s career where he has coached Oumar Niasse. The striker did very well for the Portuguese manager at Hull City in the last half of the 2016-2017 campaign. As the new manager gets to know his new team and tries to integrate new signings, it would seem reasonable that one of the only two players at the club he had previously worked with would be kept, assuming he could contribute (and Niasse clearly can).

Turkish sources

If this story had originated with Sky Sports, I wouldn’t have all of this skepticism. As English speakers it is difficult to sift through which Turkish sources are reliable, and of the many, many links Everton has had to players in the Super Lig or Toffee players linked to teams over there, very few of them actually ever get reported by sources outside of Turkey.

Everton has said repeatedly that Oumar would be staying this season, and it seems to me like having Turkish legend Cenk Tosun on our roster has simply made us a popular subject of the Turkish rumor mill.

Conclusion

Anything can happen in a transfer window and until it is shut for good we can’t be sure of anything, but I feel reasonably confident that Oumar Niasse isn’t going anywhere. He is valuable to the squad, has a good relationship with the manager (as far as we can tell) and has the exact kind of attitude you want from your reserve players. Everton fans should be able to look forward to more heroics in blue from the great Oumar Niasse.