Portuguese Beto, who is 6ft 4in, scored 10 goals last season and would add presence to a frontline that is desperately in need of reinforcements.

The 25-year-old would become Everton's fifth summer signing.

Sean Dyche has already brought in Beto's compatriot Youssef Chermiti from Sporting Lisbon for £15m and the teenage striker made his debut in Saturday's 1-0 home defeat by Wolves.

Everton escaped relegation on the final day of last season and have made a wretched start to this campaign, failing to gain a point from their opening three matches for the first time in 33 years and without scoring in that opening spell for the first time in their history.

Manager Dyche had said after the Wolves loss: "People still ask, why haven't we signed two strikers? We haven't got pots of gold, we are trying to construct deals.

"There are maybe things getting closer but we don't know until they are actually done."