Report: Crystal Palace monitoring Romelu Lukaku 2.0, but Everton lead the race

By Billy Meyers

According to The Athletic, Crystal Palace are monitoring Orlando City forward Daryl Dike, who is also said to be a target for Everton.

What’s the story?

Well, The Athletic believe Crystal Palace have tracked the 21-year-old, but Orlando City are reluctant to sell.

Dike announced himself in England last season while on loan at Barnsley, who he helped into the play-offs with nine goals in 19 Championship games.

The 8-cap USA international is now back in Major League Soccer, although some clubs clearly want to bring him back to England.

A report from TEAMtalk claimed that Everton are leading the race to sign Dike, who seems to be an extremely bright attacking prospect.

The Athletic add that Patrick Vieira is looking for a quick striker who could compliment Christian Benteke in attack – Dike would fit the bill perfectly.

Who does Daryl Dike play like?

This will be of interest to Everton fans specifically.

The American striker has been compared to ex-Toffees forward Romelu Lukaku by Jordan Williams, who played with Dike at Barnsley.

The BBC quote him as saying: “Daryl has got a rocket of a right foot. I think he’s similar to Lukaku. He hasn’t scored as many goals yet, but he can hit a ball just as hard.”

With 259 career goals to his name, Lukaku isn’t a bad person for a striker to be compared to – to say the very least!

At 21, Dike also has plenty of time to improve on his already impressive footballing ability.

If Crystal Palace or Everton could get a deal done for around £10m or under, it has the potential to be the signing of the summer.