Reports indicate that Everton have put a new valuation on a player they signed for around £30m from Crystal Palace two years ago.
As Everton push forward in their pursuit of Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, their valuation of Yannick Bolasie has come to light, according to the Mirror.
The paper reports that the Toffees hope to use the former Palace winger as part of the deal to secure Zaha – something that will likely be necessary unless Palace drop their asking price of around £60m.
And the figure that Everton are valuing Bolasie at – £15m – is very sensible business, indeed.
He arrived at Goodison Park two years ago for a fee potentially rising to £30m, according to Sky Sports – a club record at the time – but a mix of injury and below-par performances have seen Everton drop his price in half.
That’s exactly the kind of ruthlessness that Everton need this summer and, ideally, every summer going forward.
It would be easy to demand something closer to their original fee but being prepared to take such a significant drop on what is, ultimately, a failed investment stands them in good stead.
Last summer was a failure as Everton invested a large amount of money in several players but failed to build a team. If new boss Marco Silva, as well as Marcel Brands, are going to build something that works, they can’t afford to have a squad clogged with deadwood.
Moving Wayne Rooney on so quickly demonstrated a desire to do professional, rational business and so does this – Everton may have made some mistakes, but their attitude this summer can fix them.
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