Leicester City and Everton have missed out on Ayman Kari with the Paris Saint-Germain prospect opting to stay in Ligue 1 rather than cross the Channel into the Premier League.
After spending last season on loan at FC Lorient, the France U19 international obviously felt that familiarity bred not contempt but opportunity.
Ayman Kari returns for a second spell at Les Merlus. According to RMC Sport, the 18-year-old midfielder has extended his loan deal until the end of the current campaign. This time with a £4 million option-to-buy clause included.
As such, the latest in a long line of fresh-faced homegrown talent to emerge from one of Europe’s most prosperous but underused academies turns his back on the prospect of a fresh start on the other side of the Channel.
RMC add that Kari chose Lorient over both Everton and recently-relegated Leicester City.
Everton and Leicester miss out on Ayman Kari
Perhaps he felt that, after featuring in five of Lorient’s final six Ligue 1 fixtures in 2022/23, he would be well-placed to maintain his progress under Regis le Bris, the highly-rated head coach who was linked with a move to Leeds United before the Yorkshire giants succeeded in bringing ex-Norwich City boss Daniel Farke back to the Championship.
Everton, meanwhile, have funds to play with this summer. The previously cash-strapped Toffees have managed to trim the fat from a bloated squad by releasing the likes of Yerry Mina and Andros Townsend, while also bringing in a further £70 million via the sales of Anthony Gordon and Moise Kean.
Everton could yet reinvest half of that £70 million windfall in bringing El Bilal Toure to Goodison Park.
The CEO of La Liga outfit UD Almeria confirmed earlier in the week that the Merseysiders have made an offer for a striker with a £34 million release clause in his contract.
“It is not only Everton. There, a new owner has bought a part of the club, but it’s not just them. Officially, there are three clubs interested in El Bilal with formal offers on the table,” Mohamed El Assy tells Diario de Almeria.
“Two of them are Italian, and one is English. And now we are in the middle of negotiations.
“We are not going to broadcast (the details of the negotiations) in the media. It all depends on the value they present to us.
“We are happy with El Bilal because he is a hard worker and a great striker.”
Leicester, meanwhile, have already offset the loss of Youri Tielemans; Harry Winks arriving from Tottenham Hotspur for £10 million.
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