Michael Ball believes Everton have backed off Aarons to avoid bidding war
Former Everton defender Michael Ball believes the club have cooled their interest in Norwich defender Max Aarons in order to avoid a bidding war.
The Toffees had been linked with the highly coveted full-back for some time, with Mail Online citing their interest back in February, as Everton seek a long-term successor to Seamus Coleman.
However trusted transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently revealed on Twitter that the club had moved onto other targets, while other clubs had joined the race for Aarons.
The Times revealed last month that Norwich were asking for around £30million for Aarons this summer, with Everton unwilling to pay such a high fee for the 21-year old.
Speaking to This Is Futbol, Ball believes that Everton’s unwillingness to enter into a bidding war for the full-back ultimately saw them withdraw their interest.
Ball said: “I do know Everton have been showing interest for 18 months or so with Max, and I think Norwich, rightly so, are holding out for a maximum fee for him.
“They’ve been in dialogue for quite a while and it looked like it was going to be the obvious choice. But with his performances for Norwich, other teams have started to come to the table, and it seems Everton don’t want to be part of a bidding war.”
Everton know what they want
It certainly seems as though Everton are playing hard ball over their transfer targets this summer, and why shouldn’t they?
Marcel Brands flexed his negotiating ability last summer when he was able to land each of Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ben Godfrey for around £20million each, not to mention the fact that he signed James Rodriguez on a free.
Brands clearly knows what he’s doing in the transfer market, and so if he couldn’t negotiate Aarons’ fee down and the club didn’t want to spend that much, he’s simply walked away from the table.
There’s no doubt that it is a shame though, with Aarons having impressed for Norwich for some time now, having been described as “outstanding” by Canaries boss Daniel Farke. Taking his age into account also, it looks as though the defender could become a highly impressive player in the future.
However there are plenty of similar players around Europe that might not receive as much press coverage, and Brands will now be tasked with unearthing the next star for the club.
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