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Spanish side Almería want €20m up front if they are to sell El Bilal Touré to Everton this summer, with a loan deal not under consideration.

That’s according to IDEAL, who say the club want to raise €50m this summer and the striker is key to those plans.

Everton and Atalanta are known to be keen on the forward with the Italian side putting a proposal on the table worth a total of €25m, which has already been ‘discarded’ by Almería.

They’ve found the Spanish side ‘more adamant’ than they would have thought and that will be a similar problem for Everton.

They ‘seemed to be in front’ for the forward, so much so that reports in England claimed they were willing to pay his €40m release clause.

It’s since been made clear they would like to pay that in four instalments and that’s an idea that Almería ‘would value’ if the first payment was for half of his release clause. In other words, if Everton put €20m down first and then pay in instalments, they’d accept that.

One deal they ‘do not value’ is that of a loan deal with a compulsory purchase option, an idea that was floated in the British media yesterday.

That wouldn’t work for them as it would not allow them to raise their salary limit and thus, they would be the ‘big loser’ in a such an operation.

Their stance is clear, they want money up front for the player they consider their prized assets, and Everton need at least €20m upfront if they’re to get the player this summer.