Everton tried to sign Borussia Dortmund target in the summer

Back in the summer, Everton were searching for a young attacker as Moise Kean’s future remained uncertain. Rafael Benitez was intrigued by the name of Rafael Leao of AC Milan. The 22 year old seems to have a big season ahead of him as he remains a core player in Stefan Pioli’s plans.

Everton’s name was frequently linked with Leo during the summer and rumours of a possible swap also made headlines. James Rodriguez was seeking new pastures and his agent Jorge Mendes offered him to the Rossoneri. The rumours were fueled by the fact that both players are handled by same agent, Jorge Mendes.

However, Milan had full faith in Leao and were not contemplating any sale of the Portuguese. The Italians did take a look at the prospect of signing James but in the end, went cold on the idea. James couldn’t secure a move away from the club and is now pushing to join the team.

On the other hand, Leao could turn into a world beater at Milan under Pioli. But the summer was tense for the Rossoneri as there were four clubs interested in taking the young forward.

Everton were interested in Rafael Leao

According to Calciomercato, Everton tried to sign Leao and even took information about him from his agent, Mendes. Apart from the Merseysiders, Wolves and Marseille also tried but above all, Borussia Dortmund were the most interested in Leao. However, the Milan hierarchy believes that Leao can be a huge asset to them which allowed them to resist the temptation of selling him this summer.

Leao is a versatile forward capable of playing on the left wing or even tucking behind the striker and Everton’s interest was justifiable. The Toffees needed pace in the attack and Leao would provide it. Sadly, the Toffees had to look for other targets as Leao remained out of reach.

Everton have added pace in their forward line through Demarai Gray who has been one of the brightest players of the season so far, being labelled as one of the bargains of the summer. To ease Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s burden, Rafa Benitez managed to sign Salomon Rondon on transfer deadline day on a free transfer.

The Toffees are currently on an impressive run but it goes without saying that this is just the start of the season and there are almost eight months of football still to be played. There are areas which can be reinforced but it remains to be seen whether the Toffees will be able to sign players in January.

Would you want Everton to push for Rafael Leao next summer?