Everton Risk Falling Behind As Serie A Side Make Contact For Toffees Midfield Target | OneFootball

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Everton face competition from Italian side Bologna for Jordan James, with the Serie A outfit having made contact with Rennes over signing him to leave the Toffees at risk of falling behind.

James had a good season on loan at Leicester City, scoring eleven times to finish as the side’s top scorer ahead of forwards such as Fatawu Issahaku, Jordan Ayew and Patson Daka, amid the carnage of the Foxes’ campaign.

Despite his efforts that saw him finish as the Leicester City Player of the Season for 2025/26, the Foxes suffered a second consecutive relegation.

The relegation to League One rendered Leicester’s option to buy James effectively useless, as parent club Rennes are said to be ‘preparing his sale’ for four times the €5m they paid to sign him and the €5m option the Foxes had.

Villarreal, who can offer Champions League football next season, were said to have made the first move for James in late May as Everton sweated over if James might be swayed by the lure of the premier European competition.

Last week it emerged that James was still ‘waiting on the nod to speak’ to interested clubs, as the clamour for his signature kept increasing.

It has now emerged that Serie A side Bologna have made contact with Rennes for James, according to Italian outlet Il Resto del Carlino.

Last five permanent Everton managers

James is viewed as a replacement for loanee Simon Sohm, who is returning to Fiorentina, while Atalanta too hold an interest in the Welshman.

Bologna have a new manager at the helm in Domenico Tedesco and might see their squad overhauled over the summer to suit their new manager’s requirements.

Everton face having to move quickly if Bologna press ahead with interest in James as the Italian could could well be a hugely attractive destination for the midfielder.

David Moyes appears to want to strengthen in the engine room this summer, with an interest too in Torino midfielder Cesare Casadei.

Torino do not want to sell Casadei, meaning Everton face having to fork out a substantial fee to land him.

James too would not come cheaply, but the Toffees would be landing a player already well versed in the demands of English football.