Carlo Ancelotti open to selling Moise Kean - but Everton place £45m price tag on PSG loan star

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has opened the door for Paris Saint-Germain to make a substantial bid for on-loan striker Moise Kean.

Ancelotti said he intends to keep Kean at Goodison Park next season, but he also invited the French champions to back up any interest by negotiating for a permanent deal following his successful loan spell in France where he recently scored his 16th goal of the campaign. Everton rate Kean at £45 million.

"I don’t have to convince him to stay, this is what the (loan) papers say. He is on loan and he has to come back," said Ancelotti.

"If Paris Saint-Germain want him they have to open discussions about him. We are open but if nothing happens then he will be an Everton player next season and an important player."

While Everton prepare to face Tottenham Hotspur on Friday without their injured main goalscorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Kean is readying for a Champions League semi-final against Manchester City.

Ancelotti said the 21-year-old will get a fresh start on Merseyside, which is why he has no immediate plans to buy another striker this summer.

"I think that the position (striker)... honestly we didn’t have a look about the market for next season because, as I said, we are in the fight for European positions," said Ancelotti.

"But I can tell you that it will not be the position we are looking for. Because in front we are really well covered because we have Dominic Calvert-Lewin, we have Richarlison, we have in this moment Joshua King and we have Moise Kean coming back.

"We had problems this season - not for Dominic that scored a lot of goals - but the season of Richarlison. He was not so consistent because he had a lot of problems, the suspension, the concussion and he was out for some games. I hope he will reach his best condition in the last games but for there, next season, we are well covered."

Everton’s hopes of achieving their target of European qualification face another critical test with Spurs’ visit.

Ancelotti had set his side a target of six victories to end their season, but back-to-back draws with Crystal Palace and Brighton have made the task more difficult. He can at least welcome back England No 1 Jordan Pickford on Friday, and midfielder Allan is also set to return.

"It will be an important game because we lost points at Crystal Palace and Brighton, but I think we will be there (in contention) until the last game," said Ancelotti.

Analysis: Everton find themselves in a win-win every time Kean impresses

By Chris Bascombe

Super-agent Mino Raiola has more than one in-demand striker whose future needs resolution this summer.

In between sales pitches on behalf of Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, Raiola must establish if Moise Kean has the appetite to finally show Everton the promise that prompted his £24 million move as teenager in 2019, or whether his taste for the Parisian lifestyle and playing alongside Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria makes a Merseyside return unpalatable.

Carlo Ancelotti sent mixed messages when asked about Kean’s Goodison prospects on Thursday, insisting he remains part of his plans for next season while inviting Paris Saint-Germain to make a meaningful bid to make a loan move permanent. By 'meaningful', Everton are talking in the region of £45 million.

That would have sounded absurd a few months ago, but given the 21-year-old has scored 16 goals this season and is now preparing for a Champions League semi-final, it is probably the going rate for a striker in the latter stages of Europe’s premier competition.

Somewhat unexpectedly given his time at Goodison, Everton hope they have found themselves in a win-win every time Kean impresses. Either they will have a rejuvenated player next August, or a valuable asset from which they can cash-in. Ancelotti is evidently keeping his options open.

When Kean agreed to join PSG on loan in October, it’s fair to say there were initially several double takes to establish the legitimacy of the information. Kean’s Everton career is best remembered beyond Goodison for being taken off by caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson in a draw at Old Trafford 19 minutes after being introduced as a substitute.

The Italian international looked lost in English football, his first touch and movement found wanting, and seemingly unable to follow instructions to track back.

Under Thomas Tuchel and now Mauricio Pochettino he has flourished to the extent PSG are interested in keeping him, albeit his recent form has been impacted since being infected with and subsequently recovering from Covid-19.

For Everton director of football Marcel Brands there will be some relief at how well Kean has performed as it is proof his eye for an emerging talent had not deserted him when he pushed for the deal.

Brands has kept in touch with the player while he is in Paris, reassured by the fact more clubs than PSG have been alerted to his form. There is also a suggestion his former club Juventus are interested in buying him back.

No doubt Raiola will be dashing around Europe assessing the possibilities on behalf of his client. The shame for Everton is that while Ancelotti will await development before the start of next season, he could have done with Kean much sooner. Everton are a striker light against Spurs on Friday due to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury.

Gbamin suffers another season-ending injury - after 11-minute return from 11-month absence

The luckless Everton career of Jean-Philippe Gbamin has suffered another setback with the midfielder ruled out for the remainder of this season.

Gbamin made his first appearance since August 2019 in his side’s recent home fixture with Crystal Palace, playing the last 11 minutes of a 1-1 draw.

But hopes of a change of fortune were immediately dashed due to a knee injury suffered in training prior to Monday’s goalless draw with Brighton. There is some relief the latest setback will not require surgery, but it is bad enough to ensure Gbamin will not feature until next season.

It is the latest in a series of devastating blows for a player who has made only three appearances for the Merseyside club - two as a substitute - amounting to 145 minutes of first-team football.

The 25-year-old Ivorian has been cursed by injury since moving to Goodison Park from Mainz in a £25 million deal in the summer of 2019.

His first significant absence followed a thigh problem shortly after his debut - also against Palace - which required two surgeries in October 2019 and February 2020 after a setback in his rehabilitation.

Upon making his return to light training in May 2020, Gbamin then suffered another blow in what his club described as a ‘non-contact situation’ at the club’s USM training ground. That required Achilles surgery and another lengthy rehabilitation.

Gbamin’s latest comeback did not go smoothly either, prolonging his first team return until last week. Now he has suffered medial collateral ligament damage.

“A scan in London yesterday (Tuesday) confirmed an operation was not needed,” said an Everton statement. “Gbamin will not play again this season as a result of the injury.”

Everton, meanwhile, are considering a summer move for Norwich City’s highly-rated right back Max Aarons. Aarons is understood to be keen to make the move, where he would join his former Canaries team-mate Ben Godfrey. Godfrey has been one of the most successful recent transfers at Goodison Park after joining for £20 million last summer.

Norwich value Aarons at £30 million, which is more than Everton are prepared to pay. The England Under-21 international has three years left on his current deal.

Everton are hoping to raise cash this summer with the sale of striker Moise Kean, who has impressed on loan at Paris Saint-Germain, helping his side to the Champions League semi-final. Everton have placed a £45 million price tag on the 21-year-old striker.