Napoli are interested in Everton centre-back Yerry Mina, according to Calciomercato.
The Toffees paid around €30m (£25.5m) to sign Mina from Barcelona in the summer of 2018, but his time at Goodison Park hasn’t been overly successful.
In October, Michael Ball described the 27-year-old as ‘fantastic’ and probably Everton’s best centre-back when in form [Liverpool Echo].
Injuries have restricted him to a total of 84 appearances for the club, though, and he’s currently on the treatment table once again.
The Colombia international has only made seven appearances so far this season.
Napoli keen on Everton defender
Calciomercato reports that Napoli see Mina as a potential replacement for Kostas Manolas, who’s on his way back to Greece to rejoin Olympiacos.
His isn’t the only name mentioned, with the Italian giants also credited with interest in players like Augsburg’s Felix Uduokhai, Genk’s Jhon Lucumí and Nicolò Casale of Verona.
It’s suggested that Everton would need some convincing to let Mina go but that a bid in the region of €20m (£17m) could be successful.
A loan deal with an option to buy is also suggested as a possible but unlikely compromise.
Should Toffees cash in on injury-prone Mina?
Mina was a marquee signing for Everton back in 2018 but it hasn’t really worked out for him on Merseyside.
He would be a key player for Rafa Benitez if he could stay fit for any substantial period of time, but his frequent injury issues render him unreliable.
Any loan offer would likely be rejected, but if the Toffees received a bid from Napoli in the region of the £17m mentioned here, it could be a smart move to take a relatively small loss and move on.
Particularly as there are exciting young defenders like Jarrad Branthwaite coming through at Goodison.
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