Director of Football Marcel Brands appears to be targeting the right sort of players this summer, as Everton have been drawn into the growing race for OGC Nice forward Allan Saint-Maximin.
Nice-Matin are the ones reporting our interest, after claiming we, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace have shown interest in the 22-year-old, who told reporters last Friday that he was already in talks with clubs from abroad.
Those discussions may not be with one of the aforementioned Premier League sides, however, as the Italian media have regularly linked AC Milan with the natural winger, who is just as capable of leading the line.
The Rossoneri had tried to land the Chatenay-Malabry-born forward in the January window as well, but their efforts proved unsuccessful and the former France U21 international remained at the Allianz Riviera under Patrick Vieira, where he would see out the campaign with six goals and four assists to his name in all competitions.
He is not untouchable, though, as Nice-Matin understand Nice would sanction his sale for around €40million (£35.3m), a slight increase to what had been reported in Italy when Milan were linked with a €35m (£30.8m) move earlier in the month.
That may seem like a lot for someone who was involved in ten goals in 36 games, but Saint-Maximin is very much a future star, and ranked first for successful dribbles and 15th for key passes in Ligue 1 in the season just gone.
If Marco Silva has given Ademola Lookman the green light to secure a move away from Goodison Park this summer, Nice’s 5 ft 6 attacker may be the perfect man for Brands to bring as his successor.
Saint-Maximin was also named Man of the Match by WhoScored on five occasions this season, during a campaign where Vieira deployed the £19,713-a-week Saint-Etienne product at striker on 17 occasions.