Celtic target Isaac Price looks set to leave Everton this summer with manager Ronny Deila confirming Standard Liege’s interest in the Premier League youngster.
The Toffees have been here before; one of their most talented young players slipping through the net and departing in pursuit of first-team opportunities elsewhere.
Everton, The Athletic say, had held ‘extended negotiations’ to extend Price’s contract. The all-action 19-year-old midfielder appears to have his heart set on heading out to Belgium with Standard Liege, however, bringing an end to over a decade in Everton’s academy.
Everton’s Isaac Price close to Goodison Park exit
Scottish duo Rangers and Celtic expressed an interest, according to the Liverpool Echo..
Price should sign a pre-contract with Standard instead, however; former Hoops boss Deila beating his old employers to a teenager capped twice already by the Northern Ireland national team.
“I don’t know if (the deal) done or not. But he is indeed a player we are following,” Deila tells DH Net.
“We spoke with Fergal (Harkin, Standard Liege’s sporting director). The idea is to have a different transfer window from last season. It was sometimes chaos, recruiting two or three players before the transfer window closed.”
The Athletic add that Price is likely to find first-team opportunities easier to come by at a Standard side who have a void that must be filled in the heart of their engine room following the departure of Nicolas Raskin to Rangers during the January transfer window.
Price has only featured twice in the Premier League for Everton, totalling around 40 minutes of action. He made a big impression on former Toffees coach Frank Lampard during the World Cup break, however. Price caught the eye during a training camp in Australia.
“He has trained really well in recent weeks,” Lampard said in November; Price excelling during a Sydney Cup clash with reported suitors Celtic.
“He’s been playing well (with the U21s). I thought Isaac Price was the best player on the pitch.”
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