Atalanta agree transfer for Rasmus Hojlund replacement wanted by Everton
- Atalanta are set to sign Almeria striker El Bilal Toure
- Ivory Coast international seen as Rasmus Hojlund replacment
- Everton unable to raise funds to match £26.6m offer
Atalanta have secured a deal to sign striker El Bilal Toure from Almeria, with the 21-year-old set to arrive in Bergamo as a replacement for Manchester United target Rasmus Hojlund.
United have had two previous offers rejected for Hojlund so far this summer but put in a bid worth £51.4m, including add-ons, on Wednesday for the 20-year-old Dane. Paris Saint-Germain have since made a rival verbal bid for a lesser amount, totalling £42.9m, with Atalanta are holding out for £60m.
Hojlund has already indicated to Atalanta that he wants the opportunity to join United, with the player’s camp also making the Old Trafford club aware of that.
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The Serie A club appear to at least be planning for life without him as only a medical now stands between Toure and a completed transfer. 90min understands that everything is agreed over a €31m (£26.6m) transfer that includes add-ons. The medical is due in the next 48 hours.
Everton had also been interested in Toure, an Ivory Coast international, but the Toffees were unable to raise the funds to make an acceptable offer of their own.
Toure only joined Almeria last summer and went on to score the winning goal against eventual La Liga champions Barcelona in February – the club’s first ever win over the Catalan giants. He had first arrived in Europe from Africa in January 2020, spending two and a half years with Reims.
Toure’s imminent transfer to Atalanta will be viewed positively in the red half of Manchester.
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