Carlo Ancelotti is keen to bring Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero to Everton to put pressure on England number one Jordan Pickford, according to the Mirror.
Ancelotti was left underwhelmed by Pickford’s performances between the posts following his arrival at Goodison Park as the successor to Marco Silva last December, and feels the arrival of a second quality shot-stopper will help sharpen the former Sunderland man.
Pickford managed to keep just five clean sheets during the 21 fixtures featured in under Ancelotti last season, while allowing 29 goals to be struck past him including four away to Chelsea plus three against Arsenal, Wolverhampton Wanderers and AFC Bournemouth.
Romero could solve Ancelotti’s call for depth in goal with his future at Old Trafford uncertain following the return of Dean Henderson to rival David de Gea for the number one jersey, while boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is willing to listen to offers.
United are yet to put a price tag on Romero amid the emerging interest on Merseyside and from newly-promoted Leeds United, who are monitoring the 33-year-old’s situation as the Argentine has grown ‘frustrated’ at his limited opportunities in recent years.
The 96-cap ‘keeper has made just seven Premier League appearances for Manchester United since joining the Red Devils in 2015, making the remainder of his 61 outings in cup ties.
Romero is willing to push for a move away from Manchester United following Henderson’s return, which could soon make the ever-reliable £2.52million-rated back-up a serious option for club’s to consider ahead of the new season.
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If Romero does push for a move out of Old Trafford and Ancelotti’s rumoured interest is true, Director of Football Marcel Brands must leap at the chance to pursue a deal until the Argentine pens a contract at Goodison Park as he would be the ideal deputy to Pickford.
Over nine outings in the Europa League last season through to the Quarter-Final, Romero kept seven clean sheets and only allowed two goals to be scored against him before being benched for the Semi-Final loss to Sevilla.
He kept four clean sheets in five FA Cup outings last term, too, as Manchester United progressed through to the Semi-Final of another cup competition, only for Solskjaer to again favour De Gea and succumb to a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Those FA Cup outings involved two matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers, at a time Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had lost just four of their last 25 fixtures across all competitions.
Romero has rarely let United down whenever called upon during his five years of service, and five years of being a back-up must surely have taken its toll having previously revealed some frustrations back in December.