According to the Liverpool Echo, Everton have placed Muhamed Besic on the transfer list and there is interest from a number of clubs this summer. Carlo Ancelotti is looking to strengthen our squad ahead of the new season and has already identified two players who could replace the 27-year-old – Allan from Napoli and Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford.
What went wrong for Besic?
Since joining us from Ferencvaros in 2014, Besic has gone on to make 56 appearances in all competitions. The Bosnia-Herzegovina international hasn’t played for us since 2017, however, because he fell down the pecking order, suffered injuries and was loaned out to Middlesbrough (January 31, 2018 – May 31, 2018) (August 23, 2018 – May 31, 2019) and Sheffield United (August 8, 2019 – May 31, 2020) to get first-team football elsewhere.
In his debut season, Besic was a regular (25/37 appearances) before Roberto Martinez dropped him in March 2015 (147/1080 Premier League minutes) and he never managed to recover. The 27-year-old started only seven league games in 2015/16 and failed to feature at all in 2016/17, so he had no choice but to leave in 2017/18.
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Besic made 17 appearances for Middlesbrough in the second half of the season and returned to the Championship outfit for 2018/19 (39 appearances). His stint at Sheff Utd wasn’t as productive, however, as the Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder struggled for playing time (13 appearances).
Who wants him?
Despite a lack of opportunities with the Blades last season, the Liverpool Echo say Besic has interest from sides in the Premier League. Clubs from Italy, Spain, Turkey and Germany are also keen on the 27-year-old, so he could have his pick of sides this summer.
With only one year remaining on his deal at Goodison, we need to cash in this summer or risk losing Besic for nothing next year. There’s interest in Europe, so a move does look on the cards. He’s unlikely to go for a lot, however, as Transfermarkt believe Besic’s market value is £2.16m, CIES Football Observatory value him at €2m-€4m and Transferzone say he’s worth €2.3m.
We paid £4.3m for the midfielder six years ago and were trying to get £5m last summer, so we’re being realistic to facilitate a move.
In other news, we’ve put Yannick Bolasie on the transfer list, but there’s a problem