Everton and Leicester City have set their sights on luring Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi to the Premier League in 2021, Calciomercato reports.
Brendan Rodgers’ fearsome Foxes have a few things in common with the beasts of Bergamo.
After all, both Leicester and Atalanta are about as good as it gets when it comes to unearthing rough diamonds and transforming them into some of the best players in the land.
According to reports on the continent, the shock Premier League leaders are looking to raid their Italian equivalents for a midfielder who, at the age of 27, is finally shining in a major European league after spells in Belgium and his native Ukraine.
As elegant as he is energetic, Malinovskyi is a player tailor-built for Brendy-ball.
There are certainly shades of Youri Tielemans about the way he hares around the pitch, scythes through defences and hammers razor-sharp shots into the net from outside the box.
Malinovskyi produced nine goals and seven assists as Atalanta, the most free-scoring team in Europe, finished third in Serie A and came an Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting cameo away from the Champions League semi-finals last term.
Calciomercato reports that Everton are also interested, perhaps seeing the Ukraine international as something of Andre Gomes 2.0 – blessed with the same power and finesse but with added reliability.
Whether Atalanta are willing to sell, or whether Malinovsyki, even wants to go, are another matter.
The agent of the £20 million-rated former Genk star admitted recently that his client was more than happy in Gian Piero Gasperini’s free-wheeling side (Momenti di Calcio).
Then again, having started just 15 of Atalanta’s last 45 Serie A games, the offer of more regular football elsewhere could prove enticing.
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