Everton and AC Milan to battle for the next Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Everton and AC Milan are set to battle for Denis Bouanga of Saint-Etienne.

Denis Bouanga of Saint-Etienne is another player constantly appearing on news feeds of Everton fans. A reasonable interest has been maintained by the Toffees for the Gabonese all summer. AC Milan is now the latest side to compete with Everton to sign Bouanga.

Denis Bouanga is being courted by a number of sides in Europe but the Toffees have maintained a steady interest. According to Le10 Sport, AC Milan and Everton have a strong interest in signing the Gabon international.

Many regard him as the next Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang mainly because he hails from Gabon and has similar skill sets to Aubameyang. He is also tipped to follow the Arsenal talisman to the Premier League this summer. The 25 year old is capable of playing anywhere in the front three but gets the maximum out of his abilities from wings.

His journey just like Auba, started from French U-19 teams. While Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played in Italy, France and Germany before coming to the Premier League, Bouanga has spent his entire career in France so far. The 25 year old made a switch from Nimes Olympique to Saint-Etienne last term and in his debut season for Les Verts, he has been magnificent scoring 12 goals and assisting another 5 in 36 games.

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At 25, this could be the perfect time to leave France and join a team in the Premier League. In a recent interview with Ouest France, Bounga’s brother insisted that he will need to leave Etienne to achieve his dreams.

The Gabonese dreams of playing in the Champions League which can’t be offered by the Royal Blues at the moment but the whole agenda to bring Ancelotti at the helm is to make the team competitive enough to go in the European competitions.

At the time of writing, Milan, Everton, Real Betis and Valencia are said to be interested in Bouanga. None of these teams are capable of offering Champions League football to the winger at the moment so if an offer does arrive from these teams, the Toffees will have a fair shot at him.

In fact, the Royal Blues have an advantage and that is the temptation of the Premier League. Dennis Bouanga has the chance to follow his senior countryman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the Premier League.

Rennes had a £12 million bid rejected, however, a bid of £15 million will be enough to convince the Ligue 1 team. Whether a bid is launched or not remains to be seen as Brands is currently focused on getting Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan.