Reports by Il Milanista earlier this week claimed that AC Milan are now pushing to sign Celtic prospect Vincent Angelini, but Marcel Brands can unearth Everton’s long-term heir to Robin Olsen by beating competition from the Serie A heavyweight.

The Rossoneri are thought to have begun targeting the 17-year-old goalkeeper as club chiefs Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara plot to future proof the San Siro outfit amid a stand-off in discussions to retain Gianluigi Donnarumma with a new contract.

Everton were credited with interest in Angelini earlier in the month by TuttoMercatoWEB, who claimed that the Blues, as well as Southampton, Manchester United plus Italian duo SS Lazio and Atalanta BC, had already made contact to discuss the possibility of the youngster departing Parkhead.

Angelini is out of contract in the summer and now believed to have informed the Celtic hierarchy that he will not be putting pen to paper on a new deal, in a boost to Milan’s hopes of signing the highly-rated talent who won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award at the prestigious Marc Overmars Tournament in Holland earlier in his career.

Maldini and Massara do not consider Angelini as an instant replacement for Donnarumma but instead consider the Celtic product a player they can nurture behind the Italy international, who they are confident of retaining for at least another season.

Super-agent Mino Raiola is said to be pushing the Rossoneri to offer Donnarumma a €4m (£3.5m) pay rise to his current €6m-a-year deal (£101k-p/w), but has so far only seen the Serie A outfit table €8m-a-year (£135k-p/w) terms.

Everton could be met with an even greater hurdle than Milan’s interest in efforts to sign Angelini, as well, as TMW added that the teenager would like to enjoy a taste of the Italian game in the homeland of his father should he leave Celtic.

But the Toffees’ Director Football Brands should be pushing Angelini to accept a move to Goodison Park at the end of the season, in the same manner that he successfully oversaw with Niels Nkounkou’s move last summer following his release by Olympique de Marseille.

Angelini could prove to be the Blues’ long-term heir to Olsen, who has admitted that he would like to stay at Goodison Park beyond his season-long loan from AS Roma and who Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed he intends to sign in the next off-season.

Yet 6 ft 5 man Olsen is not perfect, as his performance against Manchester United on Saturday proved, when his errors in goals scored by Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay were questioned.

“There were mistakes there. But the thing is, when he played against Leeds, he showed quality. Against Manchester United, you then see why he’s a number two,” Noel Whelan told Football Insider. “That’s the problem for Everton at the moment: you’ve got an England number one who makes mistakes [in Jordan Pickford] and you’ve got a number two who’s shown real frailty, as well.”

Angelini would not be expected to contend for the starting gig immediately if he were signed, having yet made his senior debut and still only being a part of Celtic’s Under 17s.

So, Everton could strive to nurture his progress in the same way that Milan hope and then, one day, replace Olsen with a view to eventually seeing Angelini succeed Pickford, too.

AND in other news, Everton have been tipped to sign a £2m-rated veteran this summer after a 2020 deal collapsed…