Everton board were divided about signing £13m Mino Raiola client; made loan bid

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Everton only made a loan bid for Inter Milan full-back Denzel Dumfries with the Dutch international proving to be a divisive topic behind the scenes at Goodison Park, as reported by The Athletic.

This summer, another transfer window passed the Premier League side by without a new right-back arriving on the blue half of Merseyside. 

Although it was not for a lack of trying. 

Everton made 11th-hour bids for Rangers flyer Nathan Patterson and Arsenal man Ainsley Maitland-Niles, while the agent of Genk defender Daniel Munoz insisted that he too was in contention for a while. 

By the time the shutters came down on September 1, however, no new right-back was forthcoming, meaning Everton are still as reliant as ever on their 33-year-old skipper Seamus Coleman – which is a bit of a problem, when you consider that the veteran has been restricted to 22 league starts since the start of last season due to injury issues.

Why didn’t Everton sign Denzel Dumfries?

Dumfries, a favoured option of director of football and fellow Dutchman Marcel Brands, has wasted little time showing the Toffees what they are missing, with his new employers enjoying a storming start to their Serie A title defence. 

The runaway train of Rotterdam produced a Man of the Match performance during Inter’s 6-1 thrashing of Bologna in September, a bargain £13 million signing filling the void created by the departure of Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain.

According to The Athletic, not everyone at Goodison Park was convinced by Dumfries however, despite his swashbuckling performances at the European Championships. Opposition defences, and even Clive Tyldesley, couldn’t keep up with his tub-thumping sprints down the right flank. 

The report adds that Everton only ever made a loan bid for Dumfries and were therefore blown out of the water once Inter Milan offered to pay 15 million euros up front, plus another five million in bonuses. 

Financial Fair Play restrictions were also rumoured to have played a part.

Furthermore, the report suggests that the involvement of Mino Raiola, who enjoys a positive relationship with Brands, raised a few eyebrows on the blue side of Stanley Park.