Manchester United are hoping Everton fail in their pursuit of El Bilal Toure.
That’s according to journalist Graeme Bailey, who has claimed the Red Devils would like to see Atalanta win the race for the striker to ‘make life a lot easier’.
Toure’s former manager David Guion previously labelled Toure a ‘very complete boy‘ during his time in France and he has now caught the eye of the European clubs after an impressive season for Almeria that saw him score nine goals in La Liga.
The Toffees have locked horns with Atalanta as the two clubs look to wrap up a deal for Almeria’s Toure, despite Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Italian outfit have reached an agreement to sign the forward.
Everton are said to be still pushing to sign Toure as they look to bolster their attack, while United are hopeful that Atalanta can land him and pave the way for Rasmus Hojlund’s departure.
Speaking on the Talking Transfers podcast, Bailey said: “Everton with no money are trying to do their best to come up with a deal, amazingly they might not pay Almeria any money for a year.
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“I think United are hoping that Atalanta win that race for Toure because that might make life a lot easier for them in terms of getting Hojlund.”
Erik ten Hag’s side are ready to submit a bid for the young striker, who netted nine goals in Serie A last season. However, the move may be held up by Atalanta’s search for a replacement for their exciting prospect.
Everton could not compete for El Bilal Toure signing if Atalanta sell Rasmus Hojlund
Everton could be very lucky if Atalanta are looking to sign El Bilal Toure before they move on Rasmus Hojlund given the hefty fee they will receive from Manchester United.
The Red Devils could pay up to £60m for the Dane and could massively boost the Italian club’s finances in their pursuit of Toure.
With the Toffees eager to avoid overspending on the striker, Atalanta would have looked dead set to land the Mali international already.