English Premier League side Everton have entered the race for Portugal’s highly rated defensive midfielder William Carvalho. Carvalho played a vital role in Portugal’s fantastic campaign at the UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He started in five of the seven games Portugal played in the tournament and played full part in the final against host nation France that Portugal won 1-0.
The Toffees have been looking for a midfielder and were interested in Zenit’s Axel Witsel. However, they lost momentum in the race for the Belgian after bigger teams like Chelsea and neighbours Liverpool entered. Newly appointed manager Ronald Koeman has now joined champions Leicester City and his ex-team Southampton in the race for Carvalho. The 24-year-old Sporting Lisbon midfielder has been valued at £20 million.
Everton have also been linked with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly. The Senegalese player was initially not considered for sale by Napoli but Everton’s reported €45 million offer could change their minds. Koulibaly is well known for his versatility and can play as a centre-back, defensive midfielder and right back.
Axel Witsel, William Carvalho and Kalidou Koulibaly, along with Morgan Schneiderlin are the midfielders linked with Everton as Koeman has identified the midfield position as one of the roles he wants to strengthen. Everton have also been linked with Ajax and Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik to replace Romelu Lukaku if he chooses to leave the Toffees in search of Champions League football. Southampton’s Graziano Pelle was Ronald Koeman’s first choice target to replace Lukaku but their hopes of signing their man have been dashed by Chinese outfit Shandong Luneng.
Everton are currently in Austria for their pre-season preparations. Manager Ronald Koeman and fitness coach Jan Klueitenberg believe that training in warm weather would help improve the fitness of their players for the upcoming season. They will begin their pre-season campaign with a friendly against Barnsley on the 23rd of July 2016.
All major confirmed Summer 2016/2017 Transfer News, Fees & Player Data
