Girondins-Bordeaux of France striker, Josh Maja is surprisingly facing competition for a move to Everton from one of his teammates in the French Ligue 1 club, as The Toffees are also said to be interested in his fellow-striker, Ignazio Genuardi, megasportsarena.com reports.
While the media was abuzz last week with reports that Maja is attracting interest from the same English Premier League club that bought Super Eagles’ playmaker, Alex Iwobi in the summer, The Toffees are also said to be keeping tabs on Genuardi.
Everton are know to hold a strong tradition with Nigerian players, dating back to the days of Daniel Amokachi, Joseph Ikpo Yobo, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Victor Anichebe, but the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti in place of Marco Silva, who was sacked for poor results and the interim tenure of Duncan Ferguson already gone by, Maja’s chances of a deal at Goodison Park look limited.
A report by British tabloid, The Mirror adds that The Toffees scouts have already made a check on Genuardi in action against Moses Simon’s FC Nantes last month and followed that up with another visit a fortnight ago.
All this has put under a cloud of doubt a formal move for Maja by Everton, and speculation is now rife that the former Sunderland of England top scorer will have to stay put in France, where he recently enacted a rush of four goals in two matches, after several weeks of battling injuries.
However, an air of confusion has also emerged over speculation about a deal looming for Maja at Goodison Park, as The Toffees’ new boss insists there will be no discussions about transfer targets until after next week’s FA Cup Merseyside derby.
The Toffees have been in need of a reliable scorer since Romelu Lukaku left for Manchester United in 2017 and their late 1-0 win over Burnley on Boxing Day only highlighted that fact, and Ancelotti is now looking anxiously at building up his squad from the inside, after his side led in possession – 75 per cent in the first half, 68 per cent overall – but only five shots on target.
The Italian tactician, though, will not be talking transfers with director of football, Marcel Brands until the completion of the festive period of games, continuing at Newcastle United on Saturday and including Manchester City on New Year’s Day and another trip to Anfield four days later.
Ancelotti said: “We didn’t talk about this but for sure I am not asking for a striker. Up front we are really good but we didn’t talk about this because until January 5 we have to be focused on the three games. After that we can talk about whether we need something or not.”
