In May, Diario Sport drew upon reports in Britain and from Sky Sports in Germany that the central defender is now closer to Everton than others who are interested in his signature.
It has been outlined that Everton have made an offer of €25m – €22m upfront along with a further €3m in add-ons – for the Frenchman with Juventus also strongly linked.
The Frenchman is on loan at Schalke – where he has played 10 games – but they appear to be unable to meet the central defender’s €25m valuation and he is likely to be sold permanently this summer, with Diario Sport recently saying that Juventus were the forerunners.
Roma are said to be hopeful of the signing due to the good relations between the respective club boards, following on from the signing of Carles Perez in January.