Sean Dyche believes Beto’s imposing style of play can provide Everton with a new attacking dimension.
Going into Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup tie with Doncaster Rovers, Everton were winless in three games having failed to score, despite producing two strong attacking performances against both Fulham and Wolves.
Dyche’s men overcame a slow start to see off the stubborn League Two outfit 2-1, with half-time substitute Beto crucial to launching the comeback.
The 25-year-old, who only officially joined Everton on Tuesday, grabbed the equalising goal with a composed finish in the 73rd minute. He also hit the post with a powerful header and saw another effort find the back of the net late on before being ruled out for offside.
Arnaut Danjuma also grabbed his maiden goal for the Blues with an excellent low strike to complete the turnaround with just three minutes of regular time remaining, and Dyche is confident that continued efficient finishing from Everton’s new forwards can help to relieve the tension on other attackers around them.
“The idea was to get someone in who can be effective, who is different to what we have got,” explained Dyche in Thursday’s press conference held at Finch Farm.
“Beto is someone we have tracked for a while. When they go and deliver that kind of performance and have that kind of impact, then of course it is beneficial to the side and the fans.
“The fans have been aware for a while now that it was the idea of getting a focal point in the team, another centre forward and a different way of operating. He certainly showed that.
“But mainly he is another weapon, we want as many as we can. If you get goalscorers scoring, it often releases other players to go and score, they feel freer. You know, because a goalscorer is scoring.
“We want that, not just him but other players on the pitch. I have mentioned that, we have to have the mindset to score from everywhere on the pitch as many times as possible, obviously. But it’s fair to say if you have strikers that are scoring, that’s a massive benefit.”
With his goal, Beto became the first Everton player to score on his debut since Richarlison in 2018 against Wolves.
While Dyche was obviously pleased to see his new forward find the back of the net, he was also keen to praise the wider attacking display from the striker, believing he has laid down a “marker” to build on at the Club.
“He’s a player that desperately wanted to come here. We got that done. On his performance [against Doncaster], his clearance came late so we weren’t planning on starting him but we hoped he would be available. The plan was always to give him at least a half.
“I am pleased with his performance, quite obviously. He looked how we hoped he would, a physical presence with the ball but also stretching the pitch. The biggest thing to me was his desire. He can run, but he runs hard and he wants to get into the box. That’s a powerful thing for a striker.”
Dyche added: “The body language and intent he drives forward with was impressive. He’s only just got here, but that laid down a marker for him to keep building on.”