Everton are plotting a double swoop for Sporting winger Gelson Martins and Ajax wonderkid Matthijs De Ligt this summer.
Martins, the Portugal star, is one of the players who has requested to have his contract with Sporting cancelled, and there is expected to be serious interest in the 23-year-old from all across Europe.
De Ligt is similarly a target of some of the continent’s biggest clubs, though he has not contract issues with Ajax and is expected to cost upwards of £50m for any club that wishes to sign him this summer.
And, according to The Telegraph, Everton are one of those sides.
Marco Silva wants to rebuild the squad he has inherited at Goodison Park, having been appointed the Merseyside club’s new manager to succeed Sam Allardyce at the end of last month.
Marcel Brands, appointed just before Silva as Everton’s sporting director, has identified the targets, though Everton are unlikely to go on the kind of spending spree they enjoyed last summer under Ronald Koeman.
Martins is known to be a target for Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur amid the uncertainty over his future with Sporting, while 18-year-old centre-back De Ligt has also been linked with Liverpool and Spurs, as well as reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
