Everton back in for Lascelles with Mina looking unlikely
Its been a relatively quiet few days for Everton in terms of transfer rumours and player comings and goings.
But one story that has surfaced before has been revived, with a local paper claiming Everton are interested again in the Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles.
All this comes about because it is looking increasingly likely that the Blues will lose out in the race to sign Yerry Mina.
Mina looks to be going to Manchester United now as Everton’s pursuit runs into the ground. So with other rumours that Burnley are in prime position to sign Ben Gibson, the Blues are supposedly considering a big bid for the Magpies centre-back.
Newcastle are determined to try to hold onto the highly regarded defender and have slapped a £50 million fee on him. Now with the Mina deal apparently receding, Everton will test the willpower of the northeast club.
The Magpies have had another summer of upheaval and uncertainty. Manager Rafa Benitez has once again seemed alienated from his owner as he struggles to bring in the players he wants to sustain Newcastle’s Premier League status.
With all this instability, Everton perhaps have an opportunity to prise Lascelles away from St James Park.
The young English defender is I think a much better option than Rojo, especially as the Blues were having to spend as much to bring in the injury-prone Argentinian.
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Lascelles was excellent last season for a Newcastle side that often proved surprisingly resilient defensively despite the team’s overall struggles. The 24-year-old is solid across the board defensively although like many modern defenders he’s not perhaps the most robust tackler.
Given his age and ability I feel Lascelles would make more sense than signing Rojo, who is not always convincing and lacking in pace as well as prone to long spells out with injury.
In other news the long-running saga of Kevin Mirallas staying or leaving, might be moving to an end with the Belgian moving on loan to Italian side Fiorentina.
Mirallas has had a torrid time recently and I hope this move proves successful for him and that he can find a new club, which both suits him and the Blues as the Toffees are able secure a fee for a permanent move too.