All is certainly not going too well with Everton’s summer window. Despite meaningful additions to the squad earlier in the summer, the transfer activity has gone dormant in the past few weeks. Everton are chasing and tracking players on several fronts but it appears that their competitors are edging away from them. In this case, Inter Milan are closing in on two Everton targets – Denzel Dumfries and Joaquin Correa.
The stagnancy in the transfer market is not an indication of Everton’s lack of ambition. Farhad Moshiri has never turned a deaf ear to Everton’s transfer department and backed every manager that has arrived at Goodison. Perhaps, that’s partly a reason for Everton’s limitations in this transfer window.
Backed by Moshiri’s seemingly endless pockets, Everton have spent over £500 million on transfers since the takeover in 2016. The Toffees are now in a position where they need to sell first before acquiring new players to avoid any Financial Fair Play regulation breach. This does paralyze Everton’s transfer plans to an extent and Rafa Benitez has to bear with the consequences because he cannot get reinforce the squad until the deadwood is cleared.
Everton have been linked with the likes of Dumfries, Correa, Matheus Nunes and others but the Toffees cannot aggressively chase their target nor can they enter a bidding war with other competitors. This has resulted in other teams moving ahead of the Merseysiders in the pursuit of targets and potentially even winning the race.
Everton wanted Denzel Dumfries as a long term successor to Seamus Coleman
The Toffees have been searching for a successor to Seamus Coleman and identified Dumfries as a perfect candidate. The 25 year old wanted to leave PSV this summer and thanks to a terrific EURO 2020 campaign, Dumfries attracted a lot of attention. Inter Milan sold Acharaf Hakimi to PSG and were hunting for a replacement.
Dumries’ agent, Mino Raiola, was also pushing for a move to a Champions League playing side. A few days ago, a report circulated stating that Inter had an agreement with Raiola and were looking to launch a formal bid soon. Despite Everton being linked to Dumfries for a long time, the Nerazzurri are now favourites to land the Dutchman.
According to Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Inter Milan are pushing for Dumfries and opened talks with PSV with a €12 million bid. The Eredivisie side wants more for their right back. Romano further stated that Everton’s negotiations have not been progressing for days now.
If the failure to land Dumfries was a blow, Inter Milan are further going to rub salt on Everton’s wounds by potentially even winning the race to sign Lazio forward Joaquin Correa. The Argentine has also been linked to the Royal Blues for months now. The Toffees are searching for an attacker and Correa’s profile was being extensively evaluated.
Everton and Inter Milan are keen on Joaquin Correa
The Biancocelesti were open to a sale as Correa had already communicated his desire to try a new challenge away from Rome. New Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri would not stand in the way of a sale, acknowledging Correa’s wishes.
Everton wasn’t alone in Correa’s pursuit, as they were set to battle Inter Milan once again. Reportedly, the 26 year old’s agent had intensified talks with the interested parties as Lazio hoped to sell their attacker by 15th August, giving enough time to find reinforcements. The Italian outfit would accept a bid in the region of €30 million.
Everton were linked but it now appears that Inter are set to win this duel too. New Nerazzurri boss Simone Inzaghi knows and admires Correa as the duo worked together at Lazio before the coach left this summer to take over the reins at Giuseppe Meazza.
According to Sempre Inter, the Italian giants have agreed to a four year with the forward on personal terms and now an agreement is to be reached between the clubs. Furthermore, another report states that the Argentine is edging closer to Inter Milan move as the Nerazzurri have made signing Correa their priority.
Everton have received a double transfer blow as both of their transfer targets are getting closer and closer to Inter Milan. Perhaps, a question does arise in the inquisitive minds that how can the Nerazzurri start spending big despite a financial crisis looming large.
Well, the answer is the sale of Romelu Lukaku. The burly Belgian will join Chelsea in a deal worth €115 million. The sale has allowed Inter to target reinforcements and move forward with their negotiations.
Sadly, for Everton, this means they have to shift their attention to other targets as they seem to have lost this battle to Inter Milan.