Everton have once again been in contact with Napoli over a move for Hirving Lozano, but the Italian side are not interested in a sale.
That’s what Il Mattino report today, stating that Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso has ‘put up a wall’ around the Mexican and does not want to sell him.
Everton have been interested in a move for the forward for some time, with their interest first becoming apparent all the way back in January.
That transfer window saw them heavily linked with his signature and there were tentative talks with Napoli over a potential move.
That never happened but the rumours did not go away, with it speculated in Italy for the last few months that Carlo Ancelotti could come back and try to secure the player this summer.
It had looked like Napoli would be open to a sale too given how much the Mexican struggled last year, his first in Italy since securing a club-record move from PSV Eindhoven.
All indications were that Gattuso was not a fan and selling to Everton, where Lozano is liked by both Ancelotti and Marcel Brands, who originally brought him to Europe while at PSV, would be a way for them to recoup their money.
It seems the Italian coach has changed his mind, though, with Il Mattino stating the Mexican is ‘making great strides’ under his leadership and so he ‘doesn’t want to give him away’.
That’s come as bad news to Everton, who have ‘asked for news’ about the forward. In other words, they’d asked if there was a possibility of signing him and were given a firm no.
Of course, that could change as the window goes on because Napoli need to make money from sales after signing Osimhen and were relying on Kalidou Koulibaly leaving in that regard.
So far, though, they’ve failed to find a buyer, and if that remains the case, perhaps that wall around their Mexican will prove to be as flimsy as Donald Trump’s.
