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Everton are ready to ditch £30million defender Michael Keane as the Goodison Park hierarchy turn up the heat on the club's recruitment department claim The People.

The report reckons that Sam Allardyce will listen to offers for the ex-Manchester United man but knows the Blues may have to take a big financial hit.

Burnley are said to be monitoring the situation but aren't prepared to pay anything like the fee they sold Keane for last summer.

John Richardson writes that questions are being asked about the club's transfer splurge over the past two windows and that: “Owner Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright know they haven’t had value for money and now face a critical period in which they will have to make vital decisions on future recruitment.

“Transfer guru Steve Walsh is under fire, while Allardyce, who sanctioned the signing of Cenk Tosun, is also being closely scrutinised.”

Given England international Keane's age and potential though – the 25-year-old has produced some encouraging displays of late – it does seem somewhat premature that Everton would be willing to cash in so soon on a player who could become one of their defensive kingpins for many years to come.

Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday elude to the supposed recruitment scrutiny by reporting that Everton are still tracking Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca who could be brought in over the summer dependent on Allardyce's performance over the next four months.

(Image: CARLO HERMANN/AFP/Getty Images)

The article highlights how after an initial bounce following Allardyce's appointment, Saturday's win over Crystal Palace was only Everton's second win in 10 games and says: “With Steve Walsh, head of recruitment at Goodison Park, also under pressure, and PSV Eindhoven sporting director Marcel Brands being lined up to take up a role at the club, Everton look ready to reboot their management structure.

“Everton's majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri has been frustrated by a lack of return on the money he has invested in £239m of signings for Koeman and now Allardyce.

“He is especially unhappy about the £27m spent on Turkish forward Cenk Tosun, although he knows that he and Walsh must share the blame for that.

“Moshiri and Walsh personally scouted the player together in October when Tosun played at Monaco for Besiktas in the Champions League, well before the arrival of Allardyce, who is understood to feel the player does not work hard enough in training.”

Fonseca, 44, who like Wolves' boss Nuno Espririto Santo who was linked to the Goodison Park vacancy after Ronald Koeman's sacking, is represented by Gestifute who are lead by Portuguese 'super agent' Jorge Mendes.

He steered Shakhtar to a Ukrainian domestic double in 2017 but his current contract expires at the end of the current campaign.