Fabrizio Romano shares Everton transfer news on El Bilal Toure
Fabrizio Romano has shared that Atalanta has reached an agreement in principle to sign Everton target El Bilal Toure from Almeria.
The Sky Sports Italy journalist tweeted on 24 July that the Serie A side has seen a bid worth £23.3million plus £2.6million in add-ons accepted for the Mali international.
The Toffees have been linked with the 21-year-old forward for much of the transfer window, but Romano said the club haven't made a new bid yet.
Out of reach
It’s been widely reported that Sean Dyche has been desperate to get a deal over the line to bring a new forward into Goodison Park this summer and his pursuit of Toure now appears to have suffered a significant blow.
This is a signing that just seems a bit too far out of reach for Everton due to the money involved for the striker and because the club isn't as appealing at the moment on the back of a couple of challenging seasons.
Atalanta, who finished fifth in the league last season, will have Europa League football to offer him and are expected to soon have money in the bank if they sell Rasmus Hojlund to Man United, as the Independent claim the deal taking the 20-year-old to Old Trafford could be worth a reported £60million.
It means it's time for the Toffees to look elsewhere if they really think their pursuit of Toure is pretty much dead in the water, as they need to improve their attacking options before the start of the Premier League season.
It will be interesting to see whether Dyche searches around for a bargain or if he decides it's necessary to get the chequebook out to strengthen his forward line.