Tammy Abraham has turned down an approach from Everton as he is currently only interested in moving to AC Milan, according to Sky Sport Italia.
A report on the outlet’s website on 30 July says that the former Chelsea striker is not interested in a return to the Premier League at this stage and has indicated to Milan he wants to go there, where he is the top target for Paulo Fonseca.
There is currently no contact between the Serie A giants and Roma but the 26-year-old wants to wait on the possibility instead of taking up options to join the Toffees or West Ham as they aren’t top tier sides in England.
Abraham is also close friends with Milan defender Fikayo Tomori from their time together at Chelsea and the pair reportedly “always” go on holiday together, so a San Siro reunion is wanted.
Tammy Abraham rejects Everton and West Ham for AC Milan
The 11-cap England international would be a decent replacement for the exit-linked Dominic Calvert-Lewin if he is able to return to top form after missing most of last season through injury.
But he won’t exactly be cheap and if he isn’t interested in heading to Goodison Park it looks like a pursuit that Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell probably need to move on from.
In an ideal world the Toffees boss would likely just keep Calvert-Lewin, but with his contract inside the final 12 months and the takeover collapse seemingly ending hopes he will sign an extension that ship may have sailed [The Times, 19 July].
Youssef Chermiti looks set for an increased role after impressing during the preseason and there is a solid senior back-up option in Beto already.
But if Calvert-Lewin is moved on then another proven goalscorer would no-doubt be wanted, preferably with Premier League experience.
Roma are thought to be banking on a sale to England where clubs are more likely to be able to afford Abraham and his contract [Tutto Mercato Web, 30 July].
So potentially late in the window if the route to Milan looks to be closed it might be something that Everton can investigate again but it doesn’t look like an easy deal at this stage.