Fabrizio Romano details ‘early stages’ of Abdoulaye Doucoure Everton exit
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s move from Everton to Fulham is still in the early stages and will depend on whether he is allowed to leave Goodison Park, according to The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano.
Sky Sports transfer centre (21 December, 13:13) revealed that Marco Silva is keen to work with the 29-year-old again having previously managed him at Everton and Watford.
Romano has revealed that Doucoure is one of Fulham’s main targets in the winter window, along with Arsenal’s Cedric Soares.
“Fulham are interested in Abdoulaye Doucouré, he’s one of the targets for the January window — still in the early stages as also depends on Everton’s decisions,” said the Italian transfer guru.
“Cédric Soares is also on Marco Silva’s list but it’s not advanced yet with Arsenal.”
Time to go
It certainly feels like the right time for Doucoure to leave Goodison Park, and if there’s interest in the midfielder, the Toffees should certainly look to cash in. His current deal expires in the summer of 2023, and with Everton holding an option, there’s a chance they good recoup a generous fee for the former Watford man, who cost £20million in 2020.
He’s at an age where he’s not going to offer much more on Merseyside and could well be replaced with a much younger and more valuable alternative. Furthermore, he’s at a stage in his career where he will want to be playing regular football and not warming the bench at Goodison Park.
Let’s hope this is the start of a busy winter window, with there being plenty of ins and outs. Frank Lampard certainly needs to improve his squad, but that may only be possible if certain players are allowed to leave the club. The Everton boss will be hoping Doucoure is the first of many.