Everton are set to receive a significant transfer windfall, assuming Amadou Onana’s £50 million ($64.8m) move to Aston Villa can be completed in the coming days.
Onana was one of the Toffees' standout players as they moved away from Premier League relegation danger last season. The club were only in such a predicament in the first place after points deductions for falling foul of the EPL's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Undoubtedly a balance will have to be struck when it comes to taking care of the financial bottom line and making sure Sean Dyche’s squad is not weakened to a damaging extent by losing such a key player.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Everton have identified Napoli playmaker Jesper Lindstrom as a possible summer signing. The Italian newspaper also credits Villa with an interest in the Denmark 24-year-old. Perhaps Onana’s proposed switch to Birmingham will help to clear Lindstrom's path to Merseyside instead.
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Jesper Lindstrom career stats, transfer fee
Napoli signed Lindstrom from Eintracht Frankfurt for €30m ($32.7m) last summer, but he struggled to settle as the Partenopei's Serie A title defense descended into shambles.
The attacking midfielder made 22 top-flight appearances, but only two of those were starts as Rudi Garcia and Walter Mazzarri were both sacked by president Aurelio De Laurentiis. Slovakia head coach Francesco Calzona then took interim charge until the end of the season and it appears Lindstrom does not feature in the plans of incoming boss Antonio Conte.
That miserable season meant he was left out of Denmark’s squad for Euro 2024. Lindstrom has 16 full international caps to his name and played in all three of his country's matches at the 2022 World Cup.
His rise to the highest level came as a result of two impressive seasons at Eintracht Frankfurt, where Lindstrom won the UEFA Europa League in 2021/22 and featured in the Champions League the following season.
In 80 Frankfurt games, Lindstrom weighed in with 14 goals and as many assists. It is this form that Everton will hope to see if he arrives at Goodison Park.
A deal in the region of the €30m Napoli played to the Bundesliga club a year ago should be enough to get the deal done, as Napoli themselves look to reinvest with a possible move for Manchester United's Mason Greenwood.
