Sunderland defender Lamine Kone was targeted by Everton in the summer with a reported bid of £17m. The Black Cats were in all sorts of problems then but somehow managed to hold on to their defender. Even after surviving the drop, with Sam Allardyce suddenly leaving for the England job, the club had to move quickly to appoint a new manager.
Installing David Moyes was a very good move in terms of choice but it hasn’t worked according to plan so far as the Black Cats find themselves at the bottom of the league after the first 11 games with just a single win. Nevertheless, Kone, who contributed hugely under big Sam to help Sunderland survive relegation was not allowed to move away and was handed a new contract as promised as a reward of his impressive displays for the club.
With the problems and position Sunderland find themselves in at the moment, Everton are hoping to convince the player to make him sign for them in their second attempt which is to be made in January.
After yet another thrashing at the hands of Chelsea last week, Ronald Koeman is adamant to shore up his backline and the Ivory Coast international is the person singled out by the Toffee boss to do so. A defender who is aerially strong, has good concentration and is comfortable in his passing from the back, Kone would be a very good fit at Everton.
There have been reports of Everton tracking highly-rated Croatian defender Domagoj Vida as Everton scouts were spotted in the stands when Dinamo Kiev faced Benfica in the Champions League tie. The defender has 18 months left on his current contract which makes the transfer in January a possibility. With David Moyes keen on the defender, it is believed that the path is clear for Kone to make his move to Merseyside.
Everton part-owner Farhad Moshiri has talked of the men Everton missed out on in the last transfer window, the Sunderland defender being one. Koeman wants more competition in his side with more options in his defence.
Recently in an interview with Foot Mercato, the Ivorian commented on missing out on a move to Everton and expressed his disappointment. The defender remarked, “It was a good opportunity for me to join this club Everton. Everton it’s not a small club…it was a very good opportunity for me. A golden opportunity. They are playing for the top positions. They could be in Europe. So it was an interesting challenge for me. At the time I was disappointed.”
It seems like January will be paving the way for him to escape the fiasco at the Stadium of Light and move to Goodison where an exciting new project is underway.
