- Beto will make his Goodison Park debut against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon
- The 25-year-old has made an immediate impact since joining from Udinese
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast It all starts!
Everton manager Sean Dyche is relishing the prospect of unleashing striker Beto’s ‘rawness’ on Arsenal as the summer signing prepares for his Goodison Park debut.
The former Udinese striker, who earned £26million in August, has had two impressive performances in South Yorkshire – in the Carabao Cup at Doncaster and the Toffees’ first Premier League point at Sheffield United.
Now the home fans can see up close the centre-forward they have been craving for the past 18 months.
“I think he added a different feeling,” Dyche said.
“He’s actually quite quiet, but the way he goes about it and the way he trains, he’s got a nice rawness to him so far and he just wants to take it all on.
Beto will make his Goodison Park debut in Everton’s match against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon
The Toffees striker (right) has impressed for Everton since making his summer move from Udinese
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“He’s very open-minded and I think he’s shown that in his performances so far, and he’s shown that in training as well.
‘We definitely want him to build on that because the strange thing about football is that you want players to be polished but you don’t want them to lose that raw character.
“I think he will become more and more polished as a player, but he certainly has that rawness and that desire to do well. I think that’s great to have, especially when you get into the Premier League.”
Beto could be linked with the fit Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has recovered from a facial injury.
Dyche is also looking to integrate midfielder Andre Gomes into what has become a slim squad following a number of departures after the Portuguese was linked with a move, particularly to Turkey, where the transfer window has just closed.
The 30-year-old has less than 12 months left on his contract and was loaned out to Lille last season.
Gomes’ last appearance for Everton came in May 2022, but Dyche believes he can fit into his plans.
“He has been unlucky with injuries, not major injuries, and he is aware that I want him to be fit and be part of what we do,” he said.
Dyche could look to partner Beto with Dominic Calvert-Lewin (left) against Arsenal
“I think he’s a very good footballer and I think he’s shown that over the years.”
The visit of Arsenal will bring back one of the few fond memories for Dyche as the corresponding match was his first match last season and saw the club end an eight-match winless run with a 1-0 win.
Dyche also confirmed that Andre Gomes is part of Everton’s plans for this season
‘Last season (against Arsenal) we were in good form and remained committed to the cause. At that moment it was a big game, a big moment, and every player’s nose was pointing in the right direction,” he said.
‘They all played on the edge. That’s what we want. We want every player to do that all the time.
‘We want performance levels to be high and work ethics to be good, especially against teams like Arsenal.
‘That’s when we have our most important moves, when the team is in good shape and committed to the cause.’