Denzel Dumfries admits that he ‘had an offer’ from Premier League giants Everton before joining Serie A champions Inter Milan in the summer transfer window, speaking to Voetbal International.
It’s no secret that Rafa Benitez and Marcel Brands didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye.
According to The Athletic, Carlo Ancelotti’s Goodison Park successor scuppered Brands’ attempts to bring not one but two exciting young right-backs to Merseyside.
Brands, the now-departed director of football, had set his sights on both Tino Livramento and Denzel Dumfries.
But Benitez, it seems, did not share his admiration for either player.
Livramento, since joining top-flight rivals Southampton instead, has emerged as one of the Premier League’s breakthrough stars while Dumfries is playing a major role in Inter Milan’s Scudetto defence.
Was Denzel Dumfries right to choose Inter Milan over Everton?
“It took some time to close the deal, but when it happened, I had goosebumps,” says Dumfries.
The former PSV captain exploded onto the scene with some swashbuckling performances at Euro 2020, leaving opposition defenders – and Clive Tyldesley for that matter – in a spin.
“I was talking to (my agent Mino) Raiola every day. I strongly wanted to join Inter. I had an offer from Everton, but I didn’t think twice about coming here.
“They have a great tradition in Italy and Europe and they are the champions of Italy. The city of Milan also had an impact on my choice.”
The £12 million Dumfries has had his fair share of critics since swapping Eindhoven for Inter.
He has gone some way to silencing those doubters, however, with two goals in his last three games, including one in the 3-0 thrashing of Jose Mourinho’s Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Everton, meanwhile, remain in the market for a new right-back with Jonjoe Kenny out of favour and Seamus Coleman looking every one of his 33 years.
The Toffees are expected to renew their interest in Rangers starlet Nathan Patterson. Another Scottish Premiership starlet – Aberdeen’s Calvin Ramsay – is also on their radar.
Raiola, meanwhile, appears to have ruled out a Premier League switch for another of his clients…
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