There’s more on another transfer rumour claiming that Everton are interested in a move for the Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret in the summer.
Everton are linked with so many Napoli players that you might be forgiven for thinking the Serie A outfit are basically just a farm club for the Toffees!
Along with Meret the Blues are of course apparently going to sign Kalidou Koulibaly and maybe even another of the Naples club’s centre-backs the Serbian player Nikola Maksimovic. They were also tenously linked in 2019 with the Belgian striker Dries Mertens.
Well we will see but to be honest I’d be very surprised if any these players are wearing a royal blue shirt when next season kicks off in August.
Anyway the story comes to us from our old friends at sportwitness.co.uk who have in turn lifted it from the ever-feverishly speculative pages of the Italian press.
They claim Meret and Napoli are no longer successfully ‘co-habiting’, which is an interesting way to phrase a dispute between a club and their player.
It’s also said in this piece that Meret wants to move to a club where he will be guaranteed to start after being placed in a rotation at Napoli.
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Wanting to be certain of playing every week would though seem to rule out a move to Everton as all the indications are it’s highly unlikely Jordan Pickford will be moving on this summer.
Blues boss Ancelotti seems to be pretty happy with his England keeper and has given him plenty of votes of confidence despite his customary lapses and continuing doubts among some supporters.
At the moment Pickford is in a rotation of sorts himself with loan signing Robin Olsen.
The Swede is exactly the kind of player Ancelotti wants, a solid, experienced keeper who can be relied upon when he’s needed and will do enough to keep the pressure on Pickford and force him to improve.
He’s generally done well when he has played this season and seemed keen to stay at Goodison Park. Then the recent home invasion he and his family suffered has understandably made him reconsider whether he will turn that loan into a permanent deal.
If he does leave this summer Ancelotti will want a similar type of back-up keeper or he might possibly stick with Joao Virginia who has also impressed recently. That would appear to rule out any move for a player like Meret who’s unlikely to want to move to be another back-up.