Everton interested in out of favour Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz – report
Everton are one of several Premier League clubs interested in signing Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz according to Sport.
The 27-year-old has only made one appearance for Los Blancos this season and looks set to leave the Bernabeu in January.
Sport report that West Ham and Crystal Palace are also interested in Diaz’s signature and a bidding war could open up between Premier League clubs over the services of the Spanish-born player.
Sport adds that Real Madrid will be trying to sell Diaz in January as he does not feature in manager Zinedine Zidane’s plans.
The Spanish news outlet also reports the 27-year-old commands a £26.8million fee which could put some clubs off in their pursuit of the forward.
That is a lot of money for a player who hasn’t played regular first-team football for over two years and it is doubtful that any club would meet that valuation.
Everton do need another striker. Cenk Tosun is currently the only available back up to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and he has hardly impressed this season.
He has had limited chances at Everton this term but his international exploits have shown that he is miles off the pace.
Tosun turned in a shocking performance for Turkey against Hungary in the last week and his poor showing may have convinced Carlo Ancelotti to dip into the transfer market.
Remarkably, Diaz’s only goal for Los Blancos last season came in one of European football’s biggest games.
He played one minute against Barcelona in El Classico and managed to score within 50 seconds of coming onto the pitch as he doubled Madrid’s lead and handed his side three points.
The fee could be the main stumbling block for any potential move for Diaz as Everton won’t want another high profile flop on their books in the same vein as Alex Iwobi.
In other Everton news, we think Jurgen Klopp’s agenda against Jordan Pickford needs to end.