Everton receive boost in pursuit of Juventus starlet

Everton were recently credited with making a very unlikely enquiry for Juventus prodigy Moise Kean. As odd as it sounded at the time, the sources seemed quite reliable and kudos to the Blues for not shying away from asking about a big name or two.

That bid though seemed destined for failure with Kean apparently very close to signing a new contract that will keep him at Juve through till 2024. That deal also includes a significant raise for the striker, taking him to €2m/year (post taxes) which is a paltry sum of less than £35,000 per week, a number that is the lower end of the scale of Everton’s payroll.

It did seem a surprise why the Bianconeri would be interested in letting go a player of Kean’s calibre and potential - the 19-year-old struck 7 times in 17 appearances in all competitions and already has 2 goals in 3 senior international appearances.

However, Kean was recently embroiled in a minor controversy with the player on the receiving end of racist abuse like a number of other players have faced from Serie A fans. In a game at Cagliari he was taunted by the home supporters from the first whistle and when he inevitably scored against the Sardinians, he did not shy away from celebrating in front of the notorious Curva bringing even more abuse from the enraged fans.

Now however Keane has gotten himself into trouble of his own making while with the Italy Under-21 team. Along with traveling roommate AS Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo, the pair were punished for repeated tardiness by being overlooked for the crucial clash at the European Championships that Italy went on to win 3-1 against Belgium.

Under-21 manager and former Italy star in his own right Luigi Di Biagio was reported as saying -

“One, two or three times is fine. Ten, no...”

Now Italian media source Corriere dello Sport (via Inside Futbol) are reporting that Juventus have also had enough of the player’s antics and could be looking to move the player on this summer.

You have to remember that Kean is managed by super-agent Mino Raiola, who Everton have an interesting history with. On one hand he has a personal relationship with Farhad Moshiri which could be beneficial for the Blues, but on the other Raiola is the kind of meddling agent always looking for a new deal or transfer that clubs hate to deal with, with Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba very recent examples.

Everton being constantly mentioned with players who have no interest of coming to Merseyside is becoming a very oft-used negotiating tactic by football agents as they lobby to get their wards a better deal, and this certainly sounds like one of those cases.

Stay tuned, but don’t hold your breath is all we can say to Blues.