Report: Brands sets out Everton summer stall and plots swoop for hugely talented Euro duo
Everton want to sign Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins and Ajax defender Matthijs De Ligt, according to a report.
The Telegraph claim that Everton's new sporting director Marcel Brands has made Martins one of the club's key summer targets.
Martins is likely to move in the summer after cancelling his contract at Sporting Lisbon, but Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham are also interested.
De Ligt is also on the radar of a number of big Premier League clubs, including Man City, and the report claims that he could cost as much as £50million.
Football Insider verdict:
Everton fans will be excited by both of these players. They're definitely a step up from the players they wasted so much money on last summer, but neither will be easy to land. However, Everton will be looking to offer immediate first-team football in a side that should be challenging towards the European places next season. Martins is currently in Russia with the Portugal squad but could well be on the move this summer, with a host of players unhappy with the current situation at Lisbon. De Ligt could be a lot harder to convince. He's said that he would like a move to the Premier League in the future, but he's now represented by super agent Mino Raiola and he'll carry a hefty price tag for a player who's so young. He might also be ready to move to one of the Premier League's elite clubs, who have been following him closely for the past season.
In other Everton news, they must abandon their £40m pursuit and turn their attention to a Championship flyer.