Everton: Salernitana eye fresh summer move for Michael Keane after January approach fell short
Serie A outfit Salernitana are reportedly eyeing a summer move for Everton defender Michael Keane, according to TV Oggi Salerno.
The 30-year-old senior centre-back fell out of favour at Goodison Park after the arrival of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady in the summer but has since been brought back into the team by Sean Dyche in the past few matches, forming a solid pairing with his former Burnley teammate Tarkowski
Tutto Salernitana reported on 20 January regarding Keane that the club’s sporting director Morgan de Sanctis already had “more than concrete contact with Everton” and the defender also attracted interest from Southampton [Sky Sports, 9 January].
And according to TV Oggi Salerno [24 March], de Sanctis has “thought about” a move for the centre-back in recent months and Keane is again reportedly on the Serie A side’s list of possible targets for the summer.
Could stay
A move to Serie A back in January when Salernitana’s interest was first reported would have certainly felt like the most logical move as Keane was barely getting a look in at Goodison under former boss Frank Lampard, after Coady and Tarkowski’s summer moves.
However, a few months on and things have certainly changed in Keane’s situation. He’s now a preferred partner for Tarkowski rather than Coady under new boss Dyche and his return to the team has coincided with the Toffees picking up favourable results in recent weeks.
Former Burnley boss Dyche was always going to reunify both Keane and Tarkowski as his preferred centre-back pairings having successfully worked with them at Turf Moor for a number of seasons.
Now, it seems Keane could be staying at the club, especially if the Blues suffer relegation. He’s certainly a favourite of Dyche and could be tempted to stick with playing under a manager who knows him and believes in him.
Whether Keane would be a regular next season remains another story as the Merseysiders are certainly set to refresh their ailing options at centre-back providing they confirm their status in the Premier League for another campaign.