Everton's Timothy Castagne interest is a smokescreen for the player they really want to sign - Keith Wyness
Everton's fresh interest in Fulham right-back Timothy Castagne may be little more than a smokescreen for their pursuit of Daniel Munoz.
That is according to former Toffees chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Crystal Palace star remains his former club's top right-back target.
The Merseysiders have several options on their shortlist for a new right-back, and Castagne is the latest to come to the fore.
However, Wyness believes that Everton's interest may be an attempt to pile the pressure on Palace during negotiations by showing that they have other targets.
David Moyes is desperately pushing for a new right-back to be added to his squad, after he was forced to use Jake O'Brien out of position for the majority of last season.
Both Munoz and Castagne would bring proven Premier League quality, but there is no doubt in Wyness' mind as to who the better option would be.
Everton 'playing games' with Crystal Palace
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that his former club may be playing a "game" with Palace to ensure greater leverage towards Munoz.
The Eagles have already set a £25million asking price for their Colombian star, but that has done little to deter Everton so far.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness outlined why the interest in Castagne may be a ploy to help land Munoz.
"Now, the other name that I heard from somebody today was Tim Castagne from Fulham," he said.
"So whether that's a diversion to try and put more pressure on the negotiation with Palace, these are the games that everybody plays right now.
"We'll have to wait and see. But I still think Munoz would be the preferred option to get some experience in at that right-back position. And that's where I can still see it happening."
Everton set for Daniel Munoz talks on Wednesday
Wyness also told Football Insider that Everton are set for "serious" talks with Palace over a move for Munoz across Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Scottish businessman feels that Moyes and Co. are likely to get their pursuit of the 30-year-old over the line, but warned that they face major time pressure to strike a deal.
Wyness outlined that Everton's move for Munoz has to be done by the end of this week, or it won't happen at all.
The Toffees are running out of time before the 1 September transfer deadline, and are now at the stage where they cannot commit too much time to just one target.