Aleksandar Mitrovic set for Everton clash amid £50m Fulham transfer stand-off
Marco Silva is “planning for” wantaway Aleksandar Mitrovic to be in his squad to face Everton in the first game of the season on Saturday (12 August), according to The Telegraph.
The newspaper reported via its website on Monday (7 August) that the Serbian striker is being integrated back into the squad amid a stand-off over a potential move to Saudi Arabia this summer, with Fulham now “expecting” him to stay.
Al Hilal made a £25million bid for the 28-year-old who “made it clear” he wanted to go, but the Cottagers want £50m to sell him and the Saudi’s aren’t willing to pay, so after training away from his teammates the London side are bringing him back into the fold to face the Toffees.
The Everton campaign gets under way at the weekend at Goodison Park, with Sean Dyche looking to get off to a good start as the club seeks to avoid a third-straight relegation scrap.
Oh good
Everton’s luck with strikers has been pretty miserable in the past year, with main man Dominic Calvert-Lewin repeatedly struck down by injury issues and last summer’s signing Neal Maupay not producing as understudy.
On top of that the Toffees have experienced disappointment after disappointment in the transfer market at the position, with Richarlison still not adequately replaced from over a year ago.
So it is perhaps no surprise that despite it looking like Mitrovic was set to leave the Premier League during the transfer window he is one striker who will now be there to pose a potential threat to Everton.
Dyche is finally closing in on a signing at the position in the form of 19-year-old Youssef Chermiti from Sporting, but with the Portuguese youngster’s deal pushed back almost to the eve of the first game he probably won’t play a major role against Fulham.
Calvert-Lewin does appear ready to feature, although all Evertonians will be touching wood throughout the rest of the week every time they allow themselves to entertain that possibility.
After a summer that has seen Dyche struggle in the transfer market even more than Frank Lampard did a year ago he could really do with getting off to a strong start in front of the home fans to reassure everyone he has things under control.
But it looks like arguably the main threat in the Fulham squad will now be in the frame trying to prevent the Toffees boss getting the result he needs.
In other Everton news, another first-team player has missed training amid exit links.