As Declan Rice’s long-anticipated move away from West Ham appears closer to happening, Everton midfielder Amadou Onana is being touted as a possible replacement.
Stories that the summer 2022 signing would be leaving Merseyside have been circulating for months now so this latest one is of course nothing new.
Everton beat off the competition, including of course West Ham, to secure the young Belgian star towards the end of last summers window.
It would be a strange turnaround if Onana was to leave Goodison Park for East London, the destination he could have ended up at a year ago.
Onana has been subject to a plethera of rumours that he will quit the Blues for pastures new for so long now it has become a bit of a tired sytory.
As for West Ham it looks certain that they will lose their England international midfielder Rice this summer with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all alledgedly interested in him.
So, it would be no surprise if they turned their attention once more to the defensive midfielder they failed to land last summer.
Onana probably divides opnion among Everton supporters. Some see the potential in the player despite his lapses in concentration and inconsisent performances.
For others, he is perhaps overrated and a player who doesn’t seem to have an obvious and clearly defined position having played all over the midfield last season.
And the truth is Onana is one of the very few players that the Toffees could get serious money for so a sale must be a consideration for Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell as they search for ways to fund their summer spending plans.
While these rumours always come and go, it does have the feel of a sort of groundhog day with these reports constantly popping up.
And so it appeats to me that there will eventually turn out to be something in all these stories that Onana is leaving.
The critical thing is for Everton to ensure that if they do cash in on the Belgian they must spend that money well and strengthen in the key areas of the squad before next season starts.