Marcel Brands would surely love to bring old friend Kevin Strootman to Everton

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Everton have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Kevin Strootman this summer. Sky Sports is reporting that they, along with Manchester United and West Ham, have been approached by Marseille regarding a potential transfer.

The Dutch international midfielder completed a surprising move to the French side last summer.  The midfield general switched AS Roma for the Ligue 1 side in a deal reported by the BBC to be worth in the region of £22 million. Marseille now need to balance the books and, consequentially, Strootman could move on.

It will undoubtedly tempt Everton’s director of football Marcel Brands. Brands is close to Strootman. In fact, he signed his fellow countryman from Sparta Rotterdam when he was PSV Eindhoven’s transfer boss.

He was still in charge at PSV when he reluctantly sold the player to Roma in 2013. As reported by ESPN, he told the PSV website at the time of the transfer that his departure was ‘a major sporting loss’ to the club.

“A transfer cannot be stopped [when it is] for one of the greatest figures in the history of PSV.

“But it is also a major sporting loss.”

It now seems that six years later he has a chance to rectify that loss. It would go against type for Brands. He prefers to bring in younger talent. Strootman’s struggles with knee injuries over the years could also be an issue.

However, Everton need to strengthen in the middle of the park and Strootman’s experience at the highest level makes him a very attractive potential recruit. Add in the extra personal twist and Everton certainly seems a likely destination.