Everton could be tempted to include Alex Iwobi as part of a swap deal for Crystal Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha this summer, according to the Sun (30 July, page 57).
While the price-tag of a coveted Premier League star has dropped substantially in recent months, do not make the mistake in assuming Zaha can be snapped up on the cheap.
The Ivory Coast international was valued at £100 million last year. 12 months on, he will cost £70 million.
And when you consider that the 2019/20 campaign was far from a stellar one for Zaha, who scored just four league goals, that eye-watering price-tag looks a little rich – £30 million reduction or not.
Zaha is apparently concerned that he will be priced out of a move away from Selhurst Park too, with his many suitors, including Everton and Tottenham, operating on a reduced budget.
But, as the Sun points out, Everton have drawn up a plan as they look to finally lure a long-time target to Goodison Park; while simultaneously getting an overpriced, under-performing player out of the door.
Iwobi has often performed like a £4 million forward, rather than a £40 million one, since completing that mega-money move from Arsenal on the final day of the 2019 summer transfer window.
Following a series of anonymous performances since the Premier League restart, the report claims that Everton could offer Iwobi as part of a player-plus-cash deal which would see Zaha go in the other direction.
Then again, would Crystal Palace really be willing to exchange their homegrown hero for a man who looks simply incapable of influencing a game at the highest level?
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