Another alledged target of Everton looks likely to go elsewhere as Moussa Dembele appears to be another player going to Al Ettifaq in the Saudi Arabian Pro League instead.
This has been one of the stories of the summer so far with a number of high-profile players deciding to leave Europe and head for the middle east.
Dembele is the latest to make this move to play for former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
This comes after he was linked repeatedly with Everton over the last few weeks and months.
A former Celtic forward, he is a free agent and so the rumours claimed he would be a likely target of the Toffees as signing him wouldn’t of course require a fee.
Dembele has scored goals in the English, French and Scottish leagues as well as in European competition too. His best tally was the twenty-one he got for Lyon two campaigns ago.
The decision of the Frenchman to go to Saudi makes him the second alledged target to reject a move to Goodison Park after Anthony Elanga also turned down the Blues in favour of Nottingham Forest.
It looks too as though a third attacking player, Ismaila Sarr, who it was reported this morning had also just popped up on Everton’s radar again will be going elsewhere.
On the bright side one player who the club have been pursuing longer than most of these others, has finally put pen to paper as Arnaut Danjuma joined the Toffees today.
He becomes the second signing of the summer after Ashley Young who scored on his debut for Everton yesterday.
The rumour mill will no doubt continue unabated until the end of the transfer window, when hopefully the Blues will have added a few more players to strengthen a threadbare squad ready for the new season kicking off in just a few weeks time.