Everton make loan-to-buy bid for Ainsley-Maitland Niles
Everton are in talks with Arsenal over a season-long loan deal with an option to buy for Ainsley-Maitland Niles, according to The Athletic.
High-profile journalist David Ornstein, writing on the online news outlet’s website, claims Everton have made a bid to take the 24-year-old on loan with Arsenal currently weighing the offer up before responding to their advances.
The five-cap England international spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at West Brom but suffered relegation with the Baggies before heading back to the Gunners for whom he has made two appearances for this season.
Permanent option
This is the first report of a permanent clause in the offer and it’s likely to be met with delight from Everton supporters who may have been slightly suspicious of a straight loan.
Fans of Premier League clubs are now becoming a bit warier of temporary deals as it can leave the side handicapped at the end of the season, looking for a player in the same position once again if they cannot be brought in permanently.
Recent examples of this include Ben White (Brighton/Leeds United) and Jesse Lingard (Manchester United/West Ham).
Loans are extremely useful for smaller clubs or those in the lower divisions who cannot stump up the cash to buy players outright.
But Everton are a side who will be looking to gatecrash the so-called ‘top-six’ party in the coming years, and fans don’t want to develop players for rivals and not be able to make a decision on whether they want to keep them on a permanent basis.
This deal is sure to be a lot more attractive for Everton and their supporters.
In other Everton news, Blues bid for this international attacker is in danger of a late collapse after major complications in talks.
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