Everton now look extremely unlikely to sign Koni De Winter from Juventus.
The defender is ‘getting closer and closer’ to finalising his decision to remain in Turin this summer, according to Tutto Juve.
De Winter hit the headlines during the 2021-22 season when he became the youngest ever starter in Champions League history for Juve at 19 years and 179 days old.
After claiming a clean sheet against Malmo, De Winter received plenty of praise from his teammates, with Leonardo Bonucci admitting ‘he has no fear’ and that he still has ‘enormous room for improvement’.
The youngster went onto feature heavily for Juve’s youth teams before he was sent out on loan to Empoli last season, making 14 appearances as they finished in 14th place in Serie A.
Tutto Juve previously reported that Everton and Lille were both in pursuit of De Winter and the Toffees were said to have been in contact with the Italian giants over a potential deal.
However, Max Allegri is eager to keep him around and he now looks set to continue training with the first-team next season as he looks to force his way into the manager’s plans.
Who could Everton target instead of Koni De Winter?
Everton need to look for a mix of experience and youth as they look to bolster their defence this summer.
The likes of Ashley Young, Seamus Coleman and James Tarkowski have kept their average
age pretty high – now they need someone to join the returning Jarrad Branthwaite to give the Toffees plenty of options in their backline.
One name who could be an extremely strong yet ambitious addition is Harry Maguire.
The centre-back has been very poor for Manchester United recently but could definitely get back to his best if he was handed a fresh start.
However, Maguire certainly wouldn’t be available on the cheap and he is likely to be raking in a significant amount of cash on a weekly basis.
Another two Premier League players that could be on their way out this summer is Trevoh Chalobah and Japhet Tanganga.
The pair both enjoyed brief spells in Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs’ first teams respectively, however their minutes have since dwindled and they have now both been linked with a move to Italy.
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