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We come to you with two rumors for you to chew on today in the wake of Everton's 2-1 victory over Real Betis in their final preseason match.
Ajax director of football Marc Overmars told De Telegraff that a bid had been recieved for central defender Toby Alderweireld. He did not name the team(s) involved but the tabloids have connected his quote with Everton and Spurs.
‘We have received an offer, we won't give any names as we are still in talks."
So who knows if Everton are involved, though it's a move we've heard rumors about before and it would make sense. At this point, we'll just have to wait and see. Alderweireld has one year left on his contract with Ajax and has expressed a desire to play in England.
The other rumor, which feels way more speculative and an excellent example of bad media work, is that Everton are lining up a bid for James McCarthy should Marouane Fellaini be sold. According to The Mirror -- tread carefully here -- the Toffees are prepared to offer Wigan £15m for the midfielder if Fellaini makes his predicted exit.
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has stated publicly he wouldn't stand in McCarthy's way of moving on but he does feel that another year with Wigan would benefit him.
So what does this mean?
Nothing really. It's a classic "if this happens, this might happen" speculative piece from a source you shouldn't take too seriously. It's still worth thinking about though in terms of whether or not McCarthy would be a player you'd like to see playing at Goodison.