Everton officials may be just a mile walk from watching Liverpool every week, but they decided to make a longer trip this time. As reported by O Jogo, the Toffees have sent scouts to watch the Reds’ away Champions League tie against Porto on Wednesday.
Although it’s obvious that the club actually had some interest in the Portuguese team, the newspaper doesn’t make clear if there was a target the scouts would have an eye on.
Everton were much linked to defender Ivan Marcano this season, as his contract with Porto is expiring next summer and he doesn’t seem like he’s signing a new one.
Although reports from Spain claim he’s very close to joining Valencia, things are not official yet, and the Toffees could still have a chance to get him on a free deal.
Everton and other clubs are free to start talks with Marcano now, and in December the attractiveness of a move to Goodison Park was talked up.
The Toffees were also said to be trying to sign the player during the last summer window, when they’d have had to pay a fee.
Marcano didn’t have a great night. Despite starting well, he was one of the many Porto players who couldn’t organise the defence, resulting in the club’s biggest home loss ever with the 5-0 final score.
But with the defender having a good season in the local league, where Porto are top of the table, maybe this was just not the right game to watch him, and Everton could do it again this weekend.
In total, 22 clubs sent scouts to this match last night. Quite a lot to see, but certainly disappointing for those who are interested in Porto players.
