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Report: Euro giant eye key Everton creator as summer upgrade for £34.1m flop

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Image for Report: Euro giant eye key Everton creator as summer upgrade for £34.1m flop

Juventus are eying AS Monaco right-back Djibril Sidibe as an upgrade on ex-Manchester City defender Danilo, should Everton not buy the Frenchman, according to Calciomercato.it.

Sidibe moved to Goodison Park last summer when former head coach Marco Silva sought to acquire a back-up option for Seamus Coleman, after academy product Jonjoe Kenny completed a loan move to Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04.

Director of Football Marcel Brands agreed a €2.5million (£2m) loan fee with Monaco for Sidibe’s services, while our deal with the Principality natives also includes a €14m (£11.6m) option to buy.

Reports have suggested Silva’s successor Carlo Ancelotti has been ‘won over’ by Sidibe and is prepared to sanction his permanent signing, having called on the 27-year-old to feature in all fixtures played since his arrival.

Sidibe has started six of Ancelotti’s eight Premier League matches at the helm, while coming on off the bench against West Ham United and Crystal Palace.

Silva had likewise begun to favour Sidibe before his departure, having called on the 2018 World Cup winner to start each of his last seven games in charge.

The 18-cap right-back’s exploits over his combined 18 Premier League outings have been such that Sidibe has proven himself as one of our key creative options, with the fifth-most big chances made (four), fourth-most key balls (17), third-most accurate crosses (17) and ninth-most successful dribbles (12), per Sofa Score.

Had Sidibe done enough to warrant a permanent move?

Yes

No

Should Ancelotti decide against turning Sidibe’s loan move into a permanent arrangement, Juve are believed to be considering him as a potential option to target themself.

The Old Lady are open to signing a new right-back in the summer having been underwhelmed by Danilo’s exploits since joining from Manchester City last summer in a £34.1m deal.

Danilo has started just seven of his 11 Serie A appearances since leaving the Etihad Stadium, in which he has averaged 1.8 successful tackles from 2.6, 2.5 clearances, 0.8 successful dribbles, 1.1 key balls and 0.3 accurate crosses from 2.5, per WhoScored.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Thomas Meunier is also in consideration, while Luca Pellegrini is also an option for Juve boss Maurizio Sarri once he returns from a loan spell with Cagliari Calcio.

Sidibe would be expected to set the European heavyweight back €15m (£12.5m).

In other Everton news, the club have been backed to make a “good acquisition” by landing a €20m rumoured target.

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