It’s again been claimed Everton are in the race for Atalanta midfielder Franck Kessié, by Italian website Calcio Mercato.
They say the Toffees are keeping an eye on the player alongside other Premier League clubs, such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Kessié has recently been playing in the African Cup of Nations for Ivory Coast, but after being eliminated, the player is now returning to Italy.
Calcio Mercato claims that it won’t be easy to sign the 20-year-old, as Atalanta will not sit to talk unless a club offers more than €30m.
The midfielder’s agent is set to travel to London next week and hear the offers for the player. But before that, he’s set to sit with Inter Milan to listen to what they’ve got to say too.
The links between Kessié and Premier League clubs have been reported for a while, but despite some offers being claimed, things have never really moved on.
In December it was reported in Italy that Kessie’s agent was set to visit Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp interested, the asking price was then €25m, nothing has really happened since to justify a rise.
Ten days later another Italian report claimed Everton were ‘at the window’ for Kessie, and there’s been lots of similar claims, none of them really inspiring confidence.
Around half the Premier League have been linked, with claims of asking prices and bids ranging from €20m to over €40m. There may be some truth somewhere, Everton may have a certain level of interest, but given the surrounding nonsense it’s hard to believe much of it.
