Everton turn their attentions to out-of-favour Man Utd defender
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After laying out £30m to land Romelu Lukaku last summer, Everton are preparing to splash the cash on reinforcements at the other end of the pitch in the close season.
Manchester United’s Jonny Evans is reported to be of interest for the Toffees, with a bid of £10m rumoured to be in the offing.
The Northern Ireland captain’s contract at Old Trafford is due to expire at the end of next season, and it appears Louis van Gaal is keen to offload the 27-year-old this year, to ensure a fee is received.
As the Manchester club continue their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels, Evans’ place in the starting XI under van Gaal looks increasingly unstable.
A move to Everton would likely ensure more first team football, with John Stones being Everton’s only recognised centre-back under the age of 32.
Such a transfer would also make him the fourth Red Devil to make the switch to Goodison Park in recent years, following Tim Howard, Phil Neville and Darron Gibson’s arrival on Merseyside.
The first two thrived after their transfers, Howard going on to make nearly 400 appearances between the sticks for the Blues in all competitions, while Neville enjoyed six years as Everton captain before retiring in 2013.
Evans has only made 13 appearances in the Premier League this season and has had his doubters, but his team’s record when he’s on the pitch speaks for itself.
Of those games, Manchester United have only lost once in the competition when the Ulsterman has featured in 2015-16 and have kept seven clean sheets.
Roberto Martinez may have a battle to secure his favoured centre-back signing, with the likes of Arsenal also rumoured to be interested, but land Evans and another challenge on the Europa League places could be on the cards.
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