Michael Keane has been one of Marco Silva’s key first-team stars since the boss arrived at Goodison Park, but the Daily Mail has linked the England international with a move away from Merseyside.
The emerging interest from Arsenal and Tottenham in our 26-year-old defender is not a sudden appearance, either, as Football Insider have since claimed that Spurs have been scouting the 7-cap ace for a number of weeks.
Both North London outfits were understood to have representatives in attendance of our 2-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, where the Gunners appeared to enter the frame, as the two sides eye up improving their backlines.
The Toffees are mentioned by both publications as showing a reluctance to selling the 6 ft 2 defender in the summer, but both add that a £50million offer may be lodged to test our resolve.
With no certainty that Kurt Zouma will be on our books next term, allowing Keane to move to London would not be a wise step to make, as it would leave Silva with Yerry Mina as his only senior centre-back, supported by the return of Mason Holgate from his loan at West Brom.
Phil Jagielka is also out of contract in the summer, but even offering the 36-year-old a one-year extension would be a risky decision given his age and regular injuries.
On the other hand, however, accepting £50m for Keane could be considered by Marcel Brands, as it would go a long way in securing Zouma’s transfer from Chelsea, while leaving money in the bank to find the Manchester United product’s successor.
If that is something our Director of Football is considering, the first step would have to be finding out whether or not the Frenchman will be a part of Chelsea’s plans next season.