Everton exit inevitable as Barcelona hold Amadou Onana transfer talks, Manchester United ‘very interested’ in £51.9m star
Barcelona have already held talks with Amadou Onana’s entourage over a potential Everton transfer, according to Foot Mercato.
The French outlet reported via their website on 20 December that the Toffees star is also attracting strong interest from Manchester United and that, just as with his departure from Lille two summers’ ago, his development means he will “undoubtedly” also leave Goodison Park in the coming windows.
Barca reportedly made contact with the player’s camp “very recently” according to a “well-informed Catalan source”, although it is expected that Xavi will have to wait for the summer to land the 22-year-old, but with other European clubs said to be “lurking in the shadows” it is still a real possibility that he moves next month.
Suitors have not been put off by Onana’s asking price with journalist Sebastien Denis adding via Twitter that Everton want up to €60million [£51.9m] for the Belgian midfielder, who has attracted heavy criticism for his missed penalty against Fulham on Tuesday night.
Heating up
After his nonchalant spot kick in the shootout defeat in the Carabao Cup there might be a few fans who would be happy to see Everton bank a huge fee for the midfielder.
But despite the major disappointment of being knocked out of what looked like an increasingly-winnable competition to halt an excellent winning run Onana remains a big part of Sean Dyche’s set up.
Losing him midseason would surely be a significant blow to the manager’s plans for the rest of the season, which have been looking very impressive of late.
Despite links to a big-money exit in previous windows Onana has apparently shunned interest in order to remain part of the fight on Merseyside, so there may be hope that he does so again amid improved fortunes on the pitch.
But if a departure does have to happen in January or at the end of the season then, club finances permitting, Dyche has to be given the benefit of the funds to find an adequate replacement.
Idrissa Gana Gueye is 34 already and the squad remains thin in places if one or two players are unavailable for selection, so Onana would leave a big gap to fill if he leaves permanently.
In other Everton news, an update has emerged on an incoming permanent deal for a player that Dyche is “keen” to do a deal for.