Serie A club interested in Everton defender

He’s not played a single senior minute yet after a long term knee injury, but that’s not stopping Italian club Lazio from being interested in the services of Ramiro Funes Mori, according to Il Tempo (via SportWitness):

With a need to replace Stefan De Vrij, who will be leaving at the end of the season on a free transfer, Lazio are looking all over Europe for the right man.

Previously said to be interested in Celtic’s Jozo Simunovic, the Serie A side have a new man at the top of their list, and that man is Holger Badtsuber.

However, if that were to fail to materialise, their backup plan, according to Il Tempo, happens to play in the Premier League, and his name is Everton’s Ramiro Funes Mori.

Lazio are enjoying a good season - their +30 goal differential sees them just one point behind Roma for third place, thanks in large part to the immense campaign from Ciro Immobile.

Unfortunately for them, standout Dutch defender de Vrij is on his way out of the club after electing to let his contract expire this summer. Everton, of course, have been linked with de Vrij before, and it would not be surprising to see them show some interest again in the coming months.

In truth, acquiring someone like Stefan de Vrij is about the only way the Blues might let Funes Mori leave. In a season where Ashley Williams has been terrible, Michael Keane hasn’t lived up to expectations, and Phil Jagielka got a year older, it doesn’t make sense to sell off a semi-reliable player.

Everton’s Argentinian international is no star, but has been missed during his extended injury absence. RFM provides a dangerous threat on set pieces, and is a consistent, useful 3rd centre back in the Premier League. Who knows - perhaps Steve Walsh can assemble a defense consisting of Funes Mori, Keane, Mason Holgate, and de Vrij. That sounds nice.