According to reports, new La Liga champions Real Madrid have finally named their price for in-demand centre-half Diego Llorente at £13 million. The 23-year-old Spaniard has had a decent season with Malaga CF last season, which has caught the eyes of numerous top clubs across Europe. Among his prime suitors are newly qualified Europa League participants Everton, who could make a move this summer.
After a decent second half of the season, which saw the Toffees secure a top 7 finish following a nervy first half of the domestic campaign, manager Ronald Koeman can surely fancy his chances in the European platform given the squad quality at his disposal.
Although the Merseyside club is struggling to hold on to their star players Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley, a success in doing that would definitely make Everton one of the favourites in the second-tier European platform. Apart from them, among the slight upgrades quintessential this summer for the squad is their back line.
Everton lost centre-half Funes-Mori and full-back Seamus Coleman in an untimely manner, who are likely to miss the first few months of the next season with injuries. And although Phil Jagielka showed his potential in the closing few weeks of the season, Koeman is looking to add youngsters to the side.
And Llorente looks like an ideal fit for the side. The Real Madrid academy product came to the fore only in 2015, which was quickly followed by two loan stints with Rayo Vallecano and Malaga CF. His last season was particularly brilliant, where he showed defending way mature than his age.
In his 25 league appearances, Llorente has scored two goals. After an underwhelming first half of the season, Llorente really came into life in the second-half. Premier League side Stoke City were one of his early suitors, who made an initial bid of £5 million for the player in January but it didn’t materialise.
While Malaga would definitely want to keep the player after his successful season, Premier League interests could make it difficult for the Spanish side to secure a permanent move for the player. Everton boss Koeman has been impressed by him, during his trip to scout Sandro Ramirez in Malaga.
A centre-half by nature, Llorente can also play in the central midfield and has quite a rich pedigree. He is the son of Pace Llorente, who was a Real winger in early 1990s. He is also the grandson of famed Real striker Ramon Grosso of 1960s and 70s.
