Spanish club Almeria are open to doing business for rumoured Everton target El Bilal Toure.
The Mali international is one of several attackers to have been linked to the Blues during the summer transfer window. The 21-year-old has attracted interest after he scored seven goals in 21 league games last season as Almeria narrowly avoided relegation from La Liga.
Amid speculation about his future, his club’s general director Mohamed El Assy has made clear there is a willingness to do business over Toure - should the price be right - with the Spanish outfit looking to raise funds to support wider progress.
Clubs across Italy and the Premier League are among those said to be interested in the former Reims striker, who reportedly has a release clause of €40m.
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In an interview with the Diario de Almeria, El Assy talks up interest in Toure and namechecks Everton among the sides he claims have made a formal approach for the forward. Asked how many ‘real offers’ have been made, he responded: “It is not only that of Everton… Officially there are three clubs interested in El Bilal with formal offers on the table. Two of them are Italian and one is English. And now we are in the middle of negotiations, from what we will see, since we are not going to broadcast them in the media.”
Speculation about Blues' potential interest has mounted in recent days amid reports the club had sought to trigger the player’s release clause. Questions remain about the full extent of Everton’s interest, however. Claims of a move for Toure have not been confirmed by the club and, while finding attacking reinforcements is a priority, director of football Kevin Thelwell and manager Sean Dyche are thought to be operating on a tight budget this summer.
What business they can do will be influenced by outgoings - none of which have been secured as yet. It is likely that any deal of the scale required to secure Toure could only be achieved through the payment of instalments over a long period - similar to how the deal for Amadou Onana was structured last summer.
Meanwhile, El Assy is clear in his interview that Almeria would seek to sell players to fund wider improvements of the club this summer, adding: “Regarding sales, I always say that the only way to grow is that, to sell players, … That is why we always have the doors open to sell to all players, without problems, but as long as they are well valued.”
The need for attacking players to support Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been an issue at Everton since the sale of Richarlison last summer and was a clear priority in January, though none arrived. Despite this, the Blues avoided relegation with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth on the final day of the campaign.
Toure is one of several names linked to Everton as speculation grows against that backdrop with others including Leeds United forward Rodrigo and Coventry City’s Viktor Gyokeres.
