LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: Amadou Onana of Everton celebrates after scoring the team's first goal during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Southampton FC at Goodison Park on January 14, 2023 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Alan Nixon reports that Everton is prepared to replace Amadou Onana at Goodison Park with Merlin Rohl, a midfielder for Freiburg who is valued at £12 million.
While preparing to sell current midfielder Onana for £50 million, the newspaper journalist said that Everton is likely to beat both Newcastle and Crystal Palace to the German’s signature.
In contrast, Rohl will only cost the team £12 million from Freiburg, and if the cash-strapped Toffees can recover a sizeable sum for Onana at the same time, this will be a smart business move.
Nixon stated, “Everton are hoping to sell Amadou Onana abroad for big money to balance their books, possibly picking up a fee in excess of £50 million,” on his Patreon page on May 5.
“Rohl is a player on the rise for both club and country, similar in size and style to Onana.”
Rohl would only cost about £12 million, he continued, adding that Newcastle and Palace, who have him on their long lists of targets, are also drawn to the fee.
Everton ready to Rohl as Amadou Onana exit looks likely
Even if Everton has won four of its previous six games to secure their spot in the Premier League, the team will still need to make significant changes this summer.
For the Toffees this season, a number of financial fair play chickens came home to roost after receiving two different penalties totaling eight points taken away.
With eight games remaining, Sean Dyche’s team has done well to get 11 points clear of the bottom three. However, in order to prevent financial difficulties in the future, the club needs to balance the books this summer.
Few exits make more sense than Onana’s if the Blues are to survive this summer’s player sales. While Everton is eager for him to leave the Premier League, several of the best teams in England have also expressed a strong interest in him.
Teams in the English Premier League are definitely in a better position than most to make high-profile acquisitions, and if Everton is able to obtain the entire £50 million from the Belgian’s sale, then replacing him with Merlin Rohl will appear to be a good move.
