Everton remain interested in poaching an exciting talent from the Serie A…

What’s the latest?

According to Italian outlet Mondo Udinese (via Sport Witness), the Toffees have not given up in their pursuit of Udinese centre-back Rodrigo Becao.

The Merseyside outfit have maintained an interest since the summer, with the players’ agents still working to push the move through and find a solution to benefit all parties.

Recent reports have also claimed that a fee of around €13m (£11.2m) will be needed to initiate the deal, but that should prove attainable for the Premier League outfit despite their reported financial troubles.

Ditch Keane

It seems like every manager to enter Goodison Park since Ronald Koeman has been searching for a solution to the club’s long-standing defensive issues.

When the Dutchman first unloaded £30m to sign the 29-year-old Michael Keane, it was thought he would provide the foundation with which Farhad Moshiri’s new era could truly begin.

However, what they received was a defender that often struggles for confidence and is prone to clumsy errors that have left Evertonians furious over the years.

This was no better exemplified than in his return to the side as the Toffees travelled to Bournemouth in the EFL Cup.

Making just his second start of the season, he shipped four goals and endured a SofaScore rating of 6.1.

With two years remaining on his £80k-per-week deal, it seems the nightmare is far from over.

However, with Becao, it would offer a fourth quality centre-back for Frank Lampard to rely upon instead of Keane and Yerry Mina.

Already boasting two stalwarts in Conor Coady and James Tarkowski, and the youthful excellence of Ben Godfrey, the Brazilian could offer a fine blend of the two at just 26 years old.

The 6 foot 2 goliath is something of a front-foot defender, enjoying stepping out to receive the ball or make tackles that can set his team away on the counter.

He has averaged 3.0 tackles and 1.6 clearances per game this season in Serie A, earning him a 7.10 average rating (via SofaScore).

His defensive displays even led journalist Bruno Queiroz to dub him “insurmountable”.

Sitting at the heart of the seventh-best defence in his division, he could bring vast experience and yet learn so much from the quality already on Merseyside.

There must be a reason that Everton have held an interest in him for so long, and if it meant the end of Keane’s career at the club, it would surely have the fans rejoicing.