Journalist Alex Crook reports that transfer target Kamaldeen Sulemana was 'never enthused' by interest from Everton, as he joined Southampton instead.

The Lowdown: Bid accepted

Everton reportedly had a £22m bid accepted by Rennes for Sulemana on Transfer Deadline Day, but so did Southampton.

In the end, he signed for the Saints, leaving the Goodison Park outfit to bring in no fresh faces before the deadline.

The Latest: Sulemana 'never enthused'

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday before the switch to St. Mary's was confirmed, Crook revealed that Sulemana was 'never enthused' by Everton's interest in him, and even claimed that they may not have actually made a bid, despite reports of the contrary:

"Path now clear for #SaintsFC re Sulemana. Told he was never enthused by #EFC interest. Not sure they ever went as far as a formal bid. Not a number 9 but the club rate him highly and think he's a big talent. 11 hours to go...."

The Verdict: Big problems

The Merseyside club certainly have big problems if they failed to convince Sulemana to move to them over their relegation rivals Southampton, the only team below them in the Premier League table.

They needed to sign an attacker after the departure of Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United, and the Ghana international would have been a signing to excite the supporters.

Lauded as a ‘beast‘ in one-on-one situations by Ghanaian football writer Emmanuel Ayamga, Sulemana ranks in the 98th percentile for dribbles completed per game among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues over the last year, and also excels defensively, sitting in the 98th percentile for interceptions and 91st for tackles per game (FBRef).

The 20-year-old is well-suited to Premier League football in this sense, and Sean Dyche's side must be kicking themselves that they could not get a deal over the line.