Everton have made an enquiry about Internacional striker Yuri Alberto but the brilliant Brazilian could turn down the Premier League in favour of a switch to Serie A leaders AC Milan, according to Torcedores.
While it was Everton’s wafer-thin defence that found itself in the spotlight following Saturday’s collapse against a rampant Watford, a humiliating home defeat shone a light on the club’s problems at the other end of the pitch too.
Six games into his Toffees career, summer signing Salomon Rondon is no closer to breaking his duck.
A lack of goals, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. The 32-year-old has been little more than a passenger in the last few weeks, failing to make any sort of impact in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Everton’s number nine really can’t return soon enough.
If reports from South America are to be believed, Rondon’s place in the Everton squad may already be under threat. Everton are understood to have made a ‘proposal’ for 20-year-old Yuri Alberto.
And while this is a name that will mean little to most on Gwladys Street, Alberto is the talk of the town in scouting circles.
Could Yuri Alberto be a solution to Everton’s striker issues?
His agent, Andre Cury, confirmed a £9 million bid from an Italian club recently via Revista Colorada – believed to be AC Milan – while Atletico Madrid, Lyon, Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal have also expressed an interest.
Alberto recently turned down a move from Barcelona – he’s been reading the news, then – with Torcedores claiming that he has a ‘verbal agreement’ with seven-time European champions AC Milan.
The Rossoneri are yet to meet Internacional’s demands, however, with the Brazilian giants refusing to sell Alberto for a penny less than £17 million.
That, then, could leave the door ajar to Everton ahead of the January window.
“Since (Alberto) arrived, I have seen huge potential in him. I know that, soon, we won’t have him here anymore because he has really huge potential,” Internacional teammate Edinilson says of a man who has scored an impressive 18 goals this season, including deadly hat-tricks against Flamengo and Chapecoense.
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