Juventus misfit Aaron Ramsey could be on his way back to the Premier League with Everton his preferred destination ahead of West Ham and Newcastle United, as reported by TuttoJuve.
While this Toffees team looks stronger, quicker and more competitive than the side that slumped to a mid-table finish under Carlo Ancelotti, the Rafa Benitez rebuild is only just beginning.
And until Everton add some much-needed depth to a wafer-thin squad, you get the feeling Benitez is trying to build a castle on sand.
The Merseyside giants have just one convincing option for both full-back positions and look light in wide areas. Meanwhile, 32-year-old Salomon Rondon has done little so far to suggest he can provide serious competition for the talismanic Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
There are problems in midfield too.
Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure have produced some of their finest football in Everton colours under Benitez but Andre Gomes is starting to resemble a lost cause while Jean-Philippe Gbamin has returned to the familiar surroundings of the Finch Farm treatment room.
The less said about Fabian Delph, meanwhile, the better.
Aaron Ramsey could add energy to Everton engine room – if fit
Ramsey, then, could be a welcome addition to the Everton engine room provided the injury-hit 30-year-old can still offer the tenacity and energy Benitez demands from his midfielders.
If fit and firing, it’s not hard to imagine the former Arsenal star adapting nicely to one of the two box-to-box roles in Rafa’s midfield. The presence of the tough-tackling, disciplined Allan would give Ramsey freedom to make those trademark penalty-area bursts.
TuttoJuve claims Juventus could sell Ramsay for as little as £4 million, such is their desperation to get him – and his £115,000-a-week pay packet – off the wage bill.
West Ham and Newcastle are interested, although a return to Arsenal – as part of a swap deal that would see the rejuvenated Granit Xhaka go in the other direction – feels as unlikely as Alvaro Morata winning the Ballon D’Or.
The report adds that, given the choice, Ramsey would choose Everton over the other options.
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