Everton eye Issa Doumbia as exploits in Italy attract £13m bid elsewhere

Everton have reportedly expressed an interest in signing midfielder Issa Doumbia from Serie B side Venezia.

The 22-year-old has spent the past couple of seasons with the Italian side, having arrived from provincial club AlbinoLeffe.

Doumbia made 24 appearances for Venezia as they were relegated from Serie A last season and has made 23 appearances in Serie B this term.

Venezia are well on their way to a top-flight return, but it may be that Doumbia is poached before next season.

Everton have one eye on the transfer window, with Doumbia a possible option this summer.

Issa Doumbia already subject of £13m bid

It is getting to the part of the year in which Everton are beginning to be linked with more and more players.

This is despite the fact that the Toffees do not know which market they will be shopping in this summer. That depends on whether European football is secured or not.

As per Tuttomercatoweb, Everton are one of two Premier League clubs to have already expressed an interest in Doumbia, along with Newcastle United.

Inter, AC Milan and Roma are also showing an interest, which is pretty telling given their status in the Italian pyramid.

Portuguese pair Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, meanwhile, are also keeping tabs on Doumbia's situation thanks to his standout displays in Serie B.

However, it may well be that Turkish side Besiktas are at the front of the queue as they are said to have already lodged a £13million offer.

And furthermore, the player has indicated that he would be open to a move to Besiktas if a fee can be agreed.

That is bad news for Everton, of course, and it may well be that a lot of this happens over the course of the coming months.

Everton's European chase could count against them in the short term

Everton qualifying for Europe - whether that be the Conference League or Europa League - is the ultimate aim for David Moyes over the next few weeks.

The short-term problem Everton now face, however, is they cannot really put plans in place for the summer transfer window.

Competing in Europe opens the door to sign a different type of player - not top tier by any means, but those who perhaps would have previously said no will now be more tempted.

As can be seen with this example, other sides can already start shopping ahead of next season as they know the state of play.

It is simply one of those things, though, and everyone connected to Everton will have their fingers crossed that Moyes can get his side over the line before focus then properly turns to transfers.