Everton have been credited with an interest in Manchester United centre-back Chris Smalling despite his poor Premier League form of late.
Get ready for comments about how the transfer market has spiralled out of control and about the ridiculously overpriced fees demanded for English players.
It is understood that United boss Jose Mourinho could axe a substantial number of senior players this summer with the club’s chiefs telling him he must raise some cash if he wants to embark on a massive overhaul. And Smalling is one of the first players understood to be ripe for the cull.
Which is both good and bad news for Everton.
On one hand, Everton will be pleased to learn that Smalling, who the Mirror claims they are after, will be on the market this summer. On the other, £25 million is a huge fee that they would be mad to pay for a player who appears to have declined considerably over the last year or so.
The 28-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford and would surely have made less than his 21 Premier League starts this season had Eric Bailly been fit more regularly.
Smalling was even left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the current international friendlies with the World Cup just three months away.
So it remains to be seen if that £25 million price-tag will see Everton put an immediate halt to their interest.
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