Neal Maupay could leave Everton in summer as agent speaks out on Serie A interest – Fabrizio Romano
Everton striker Neal Maupay could leave the club at the end of the season, with the Frenchman’s agent disclosing that he would be open to a move to Serie A, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 26-year-old’s agent, Federico Pastorello, has admitted that Salernitana previously wanted to sign the Toffees striker, and he was expecting further offers from Italy in the summer.
Maupay has struggled to hit the ground running at Goodison Park since his summer transfer from Brighton, scoring just one goal from 20 Premier League appearances this term, and quickly falling beneath Demarai Gray and Ellis Simms in the pecking order on Merseyside.
Taking to Twitter (Tuesday, 21 March), Romano wrote: “Neal Maupay could leave Everton at the end of the season.
“His agent Pastorello: ‘Salernitana wanted him, Everton got the deal done in January then changed the coach: we’ll see in June,’ told TMW.
“‘Probably there could be options in Serie A, Neal is open to joining Italy.'”
Time to go
Although you could see the thinking behind Maupay’s transfer at the time, the forward has never quite settled into life at Goodison Park since arriving in the summer.
During his time at Brighton, he was often regarded as a clinical finisher in the penalty area – something that the Toffees have lacked in recent times – but this attribute never translated to the Goodison Park pitch.
If the club do avoid relegation to the Championship, a major overhaul is needed in the summer, and it must start with the likes of Maupay.
The French attacker simply isn’t scoring enough goals to justify his position in the Everton squad, with Sean Dyche even turning to Demarai Gray as a false nine instead of playing Maupay.
Revamping the squad with Maupay, and several other players’ exits, is desperately needed at the end of the season if the club harbour ambitions of moving up the Premier League table.