According to reports in Spanish media outlet DiarioGol, Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos is unhappy at a lack of first-team minutes and is being eyed by Tottenham Hotspur, along with Premier League rivals Arsenal, Serie A duo AC Milan and AS Roma and former club Real Betis.
DiarioGol says that the 21-year-old, who moved to the Bernabeu from Betis during the summer transfer window, chose to join Real over Barcelona even though he knew that manager Zinedine Zidane didn’t particularly want him and that he would have played more at the Camp Nou, and he is already frustrated at a lack of game time.
Now the Spain Under-21 international is looking for a way out, with Spurs among the clubs ready to offer him an escape route.
Meanwhile, new Everton manager Sam Allardyce will already be identifying potential January signings as he looks to lead the Merseyside outfit up the Premier League table, and a deal to bring the youngster to Goodison Park could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons the Toffees should hijack Tottenham’s bid to sign Ceballos…
They need a new central midfielder
While Sam Allardyce as plenty of strength and depth in the No 10 role, the same can’t be said in the central midfield spots if this season is anything to go by.
Even though Everton have the likes of Idrissa Gueye, Morgan Schneiderlin, Mo Besic, James McCarthy, Beni Baningime and Tom Davies that can play there, the former duo have been poor compared to last season while the latter duo are still relatively inexperienced.
Besic and McCarthy have also suffered their fair share of injury problems, and if Allardyce is looking to bring in a quality player in that area in January, Ceballos could be the ideal option.
His qualities
While he has only made five La Liga appearances for Real this season, the 21-year-old has still shown his qualities and according to Squawka he currently has a passing accuracy of 94%, while he also scored a brace in the2-1 win against Alaves in September.
Looking back to last season with Real Betis, Ceballos showed the defensive contribution he brings by making 52 interceptions and winning 67 tackles in 30 top flight Spanish games, but it was his impact at the other end of the pitch that was perhaps more impressive.
The Spain Under-21 international created 38 chances for his teammates, and only Lionel Messi and Neymar successfully completed more take-ons than his tally of 79 to show what a good dribbler of the ball he is.
In addition, he was also the second most fouled player in La Liga having been stopped illegally on 116 occasions.
Potential
If Everton want to start challenging the top teams in the Premier League, then they need to make more sensible decisions in the transfer market with their summer business leaving a lot to be desired.
While fellow Spaniard Sandro Ramirez has so far struggled to adapt to the English game, Ceballos looks as though he has all of the traits and the qualities to be a hit in the Premier League.
At 21 years of age, he has the potential to go on to become a great player in the future, and the talented midfielder is exactly the type of player that the Merseyside outfit should have their eyes on if Premier League rivals Tottenham and Arsenal want him too.
Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.