Inter Milan move ahead of Everton in the race to sign Las Palmas defender Mauricio Lemos.
New head coach Luciano Spalletti has made the Uruguayan one his top priorities in the transfer market as he looks to get the Nerazzurri back to the top table in Serie A.
Head coach of FC Interernazionale Luciano Spalletti and FC Bayern Muenchen team manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Lemos is under contract at the Estadio Gran Canaria until 2021 and has a £26.8m release clause written into that deal, which according to the Daily Mail is what put the Toffees off in the first place.
The Merseyside side sent scouts to watch the 21-year-old in action last season and were heavily linked before sealing the £30m (BBC) signing of Michael Keane from Burnley.
However, it is believed that manager Ronald Koeman is still in the market for another centre-back due to a serious injury to Ramiro Funes Mori and the Sun says the club are considering a shock move for West Ham United’s James Collins.
Yet if Lemos’ price put Everton off before Keane arrived, it surely still does now and it seems that Inter are now ahead in the race to sign the South American in any case; possibly as a replacement for Valencia-bound Jeison Murillo – as reported by Marca.
Las Palmas’ Uruguayan defender Mauricio Lemos (L) tackles Sevilla’s French forward Wissam Ben Yedder (R).
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