Everton are looking to progress after appointing Marco Silva as their new boss and the perfect transfer opportunity may have arisen, if they are quick.
Everton finally appointed former Watford boss Silva after a protracted saga and the Portuguese must cut a bloated squad to make money available for top quality reinforcements, as reported by The Times.
The Toffees’ billionaire major shareholder Farhad Moshiri will not be repeating the unprecedented spending witnessed last summer with Silva operating under a sell-to-buy policy outlined outlined by Marcel Brands, Everton’s new director of football.
Brands said his first priority was to significantly reduce a pool of 38 players for the new manager Silva and also to cut a wage bill projected to be £139 million for 2017-18.
With highest earner Wayne Rooney looking set for a move to DC United, as reported by The Sun, that could help facilitate a move for Roma and now former Belgium star Radja Nainggolan, but only if Everton are quick off the mark.
The Toffees need top quality players to try and break into the top six and despite controversially missing out on Belgium’s World Cup squad under former Everton boss Roberto Martinez, Nainggolan is certainly that.
Martinez’s decision did not go down well in Belgium where the player is a huge fans’ favourite.
According to Italian media outlet Il Tempo, Roma are getting ready to sell the midfielder after growing tired of his ‘unprofessional lifestyle’.
And Il Tempo claims fellow Serie A side Inter Milan are in for the midfielder, who retired from international duty after Martinez’s World Cup snub.
Inter are dragging their heels, though, and trying to lower the amount they have to shell out by including players in any potential deal.
So a window of opportunity has arisen for any clubs willing to meet Roma’s valuation of the player, believed to be around £25 million.
Although he has turned 30, Nainggolan would represent a major coup for Silva and a relative bargain in the modern transfer market.
Signing him would also surely help attract other top players to come Goodison Park as Silva aims for quality rather than quantity.
A recent transfer poll saw Everton fans name Nainggolan as the player they would most like to sign this summer with 79% of the vote, as reported by FootballFanCast.
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