Monday saw a strange rumour emerge in England (via the Liverpool Echo), as Everton were said to be interested in Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele.
We say it’s strange because, and no offence to the Toffees, the calibre of clubs the young midfielder has previously been linked to is a step above that of Marco Silva’s side, with the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham previously mentioned.
In fact, Pep Guardiola and co. even went as far as allegedly bidding €50m for Ndombele’s services, only to have that amount returned to sender by Lyon’s president Jean-Michel Aulas, a well known tough negotiator.
Everton and their fans will be fully aware of that last part, having seen the president pull the plug on Liverpool’s attempt to sign Nabil Fékir in the summer.
The €50m bid was revealed by RMC Sport after L’Equipe had claimed a ‘top four’ mystery English side had placed a bid of that amount, while Daniel Levy had also seen his verbal €45m offer turned down by Aulas.
If this is how Lyon were dealing with offers last summer, imagine what they’ll be like in January or June next year, especially after the midfielder signed a new deal keeping him at the club until 2023.
€50m isn’t going to be enough, and will Everton really be able to go much higher? Will Ndombele also want to leave a club currently playing in the Champions League (and one that tends to qualify for the competition)?
That really remains to be seen.
