Marseille striker Bamba Dieng has rejected a move to Everton as he would prefer to join Lorient this month.
That’s according to Foot Mercato, who says the striker has made his preference clear to the Toffees after they got in touch about a transfer.
The website explains that despite Dieng failing a medical yesterday, Lorient are keen to sign the forward and have continued with their proposed move, negotiating a lower priced deal with the player and his agents.
They now want to secure a different deal with Marseille, with Lorient no longer prepared to pay the €10m that was previously agreed.
In the middle of this was Everton, who had shown up on the scene late as they scramble around Europe looking for a striker to add to their squad.
They had ‘rekindled’ their interest in the striker and were looking at a potential deal but the striker has made it clear ‘he prefers Lorient’ because he knows he will get regular playing and be able to develop under Regis Le Bris.
That means he has ruled out a move to Goodison Park while Lorient remain at the table. The French side are his preferred choice and he wants to go there.
There is time for that to change, of course, but for now it seems Everton can rule him out and would be best served targeting someone else to bolster their forward line.
