Some Everton fans are set to be proved right, as the latest hurdle standing in the Blues’ way could end the Toffees’ pursuit of Juventus forward Moise Kean.
Portions of the Goodison Park faithful were hesitant to believe the hype when it first emerged that we had made contact with the Allianz Stadium natives regarding their future star in the making, with one supporter claiming: “Hell will freeze over before this happens.”
Director of Football Marcel Brands has already been halted with numerous hurdles in his reported pursuit of the Vercelli-born ace, too, as the Italian press reported earlier in the month that the Azzurri were prepared to reject our alleged €30million (£26.9m) offer, as they instead planned to hand the 19-year-old a new five-year contract, said to be worth €2million-a-season (£1.7m-a/s or £34.5k-a-week).
Although, after those claims were published, further reporting in Italy suggested Juve could cash in on the former Torino youth player, as the Turin outfit were frustrated to see that he was dropped from U21 international duty for a key European Championship fixture for repeated tardiness in training.
Now, the potential for Kean to leave Juventus has seen his father Biorou Jean discuss what the future may hold for the teenage centre-forward with PassioneInter.com.
While it has been noted that Kean has distanced himself from his father over remarks he made relating to the striker’s rise to prominence, Jean believes his son would rather join Inter Milan if he leaves Juventus this summer, as he has been a fan of the Nerazzurri ever since he was a child.
“It all started when we were walking around market stalls, and I told him to choose a shirt,” Jean said. “He wasn’t in any doubt, he chose [Obafemi] Martins’ Nerazzurri jersey right away.
“Inter are his home: he chose them as a child, so surely he’d like to go there. Then it depends on the offers that come in for him. If Inter offer more than what he earns right now, he’ll go there, in my opinion.
“When he played for Torino, he always said to me: ‘After Toro, take me to Inter.’ I’ve read in the newspapers that he could go abroad, but I haven’t talked to Raiola yet. He’ll contact me before making a decision.
“Despite being an adult, he still has his roots here. I’ll advise him to go to Inter so he can be even closer to me, instead of going to the Netherlands.”
Kean has been linked with a potential move to the Eredivisie as part of a player-plus-cash swap deal for Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.
Another reported targets of ours, Memphis Depay, also appeared to reject a potential move to Goodison Park this summer, after it emerged the Dutch forward felt the Blues are not worth his consideration as we are not prestigious enough for him.