Everton are ready to bid big to win the increasing race to sign Torino captain Andrea Belotti in the summer transfer window, according to Tuttosport via Sport Witness.
Interest in Belotti’s signature is said to be growing following his strong form in the Serie A, with AC Milan, SSC Napoli and AS Roma now ‘brazenly’ courting the 26-year-old.
They are not the only clubs interested in a swoop, however, as Belotti’s 15 goals across all competitions have put sides on alert, but opposition from Torino will be fraught as they plan to build their team around the striker and goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
Yet Everton chiefs are willing to disrupt Il Toro’s plans, as it is suggested we could offer an outright €60million (£52.6m) to see that the 27-cap Italy striker joins compatriot Moise Kean in making the switch to the Premier League.
It is not suggested if a sum in that region would be enough to tempt the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino natives into selling one of their prized assets, but it comes following previous claims by Tuttosport that Carlo Ancelotti is ‘very interested’ in landing the attacker.
A sum in excess of £50m for Belotti would make the Torino captain our club-record purchase, eclipsing the £45m spent on Gylfi Sigurdsson and the £35m rising to £50m deal we struck with Watford for Richarlison.
Whether Ancelotti necessarily needs to flush that kind of money on a forward this summer remains to be seen thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison’s form this season, though the boss is seemingly in the market for attacking reinforcements.
Belotti is not the only forward to have been linked recently, with reports in Germany suggesting we are looking at RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen and that he has handed in a transfer request in order to leave his current Bundesliga outfit. The Blues have also been credited with interest in offering between €30m (£26.3m) and €35million (£30.7m) for Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik
Of out of Belotti and Poulsen, Belotti has featured more regularly this season with 22 starts in 23 Serie A appearances – only sitting out two fixtures due to a bruised hip – while Poulsen has started just 10 of his 20 league outings to date.
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Poulsen could make for the ideal strike partner to Calvert-Lewin if signed, while Belotti would be required to serve in a different way due to his style of play.
The 26-year-old, who has captained Torino in 29 of his 31 appearances across all competitions this term, has won just 50% of his 232 ground duels in the Serie A this season and 75 (52%) of his aerial duels, per Sofa Score statistics. He has also directed just 27 of 44 shots on target and missed six big chances to score, but has played 27 key balls, created six big chances to score and been successful with 34 (63%) of his dribbles, too.
Whether Ancelotti and Brands are willing to spend big on Belotti remains to be seen, as does if the boss even favours signing a striker this summer at all.
In other Everton news, Marcel Brands has landed a huge boost in the club’s plans to sign a €30m hitman after the 44-cap ace handed in a transfer request.