Everton attempt to get the jump on Chelsea target

Everton have had a £15m bid for Franck Kessié rejected, according to the guardian.

The 20-year-old has scored six goals in 16 appearances for Atalanta so far this season and is tipped to join Chelsea in the summer.

Kessié’s agent George Atangana revealed two weeks ago that Chelsea had an initial bid rejected by Atalanta: “We have a lot of interest from the Premier League – Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal,” he told Guardian sport. “I cannot say at this stage how much he will cost but we are talking about one of the best young players in the world. But for us the most important thing is that the technical project is the right one for him. Franck is very young so we have to be very careful about his development.

“Chelsea are very interested and it is a great club but we must take our time to consider all the options. Now we are in January so he has to play at the African Cup of Nations for Ivory Coast so I am not going to rush anything.”