Everton want Bastien Meupiyou amid interest from Tottenham and Wolves as transfer bid emerges
Everton are interested in Nantes defender Bastien Meupiyou but Wolves are confident of beating them to his signature, according to HITC.
The outlet reported on their website (14 August) that the young Frenchman is in-demand in the Premier League with Tottenham and West Ham also following him, as well as other clubs in France.
Nantes are expected to need to sell as the “highly-talented” teenager only has a year left on his contract.
But Wolves, armed with close to £100million from the sales of Max Kilman and Pedro Neto to West Ham and Chelsea respectively, have stolen a march on their rivals and put in a second bid worth £4.3m.
Mason Holgate and Michael Keane could leave Everton
Since Everton signed Jake O’Brien from Lyon the centre of defence is no longer the top priority, with a resolution of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s future [Liverpool Echo, 14 August] and the signing of a new central midfielder now more pressing.
But if either of Michael Keane and Mason Holgate find new homes, after both were put up for sale [i News, 12 August], that could open the door for another low-cost option to be brought in.
A big-money exit for Jarrad Branthwaite is a potential wild-card but the club have remained steadfast all summer so far that it won’t happen without his £70m-plus asking price being met.
It appears to be Wolves race win lose therefore, with West Ham also having signed two central defenders and Spurs relatively well stocked as well.
Meupiyou, 18, is clearly expected to develop into a quality player but with just a single Nantes appearance to his name, where he was sent off after nine minutes, he certainly looks like one for the future.
As a potential reserve option to develop behind O’Brien, Branthwaite and James Tarkowski the interest from Goodison might make sense, but Sean Dyche looks more interested in trying to secure Kalvin Phillips before the deadline as things stand.
In other Everton news, the Toffees have been offered a striker from the Champions League finalists.
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