Napoli may be about to lose out to Everton in the race for defender Gabriel Magalhães as they can’t match the Blues offer for him.
That’s according to Italian journalist Ciro Venerato, who has provided an update on the saga surrounding the Brazilian centre-back.
Gabriel has been heavily linked with a move away from Lille this summer, with the club openly admitting that he is considering several offers.
One of them is thought to be from Everton, who have identified the defender as an ideal addition as Carlo Ancelotti eyes up a new centre back this summer.
The Blues appeared to have a deal wrapped up earlier this year when a transfer was agreed with Lille and the player, who also underwent a medical.
However, they pulled back from that deal following the Coronavirus outbreak, with the suggestion that they wanted to re-evaluate the finances of it.
That led to Napoli seemingly taking charge of the situation and moving in on the Brazilian, who they themselves had identified as a perfect replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Italians had thus been at the front of the queue for the last few weeks until things changed this week, with a report from France stating that Everton had stolen a march on their rivals.
That was followed up today by claims that the Blues, as well as Napoli and Manchester United, had all made a €30m bid for him and it was up to the defender to choose his next destination.
Venerato has now thrown his two cents into the mix and, if he is to believed, Napoli is not an option at present.
“A former friend of Napoli is ready to create problems for the Italian club,” he told Calcio Napoli.
“Ancelotti’s Everton have offered Lille €30m for Gabriel. Napoli have an option but cannot currently equal the English offer.
“(That’s because) they first need to sell Koulibaly. But Manchester City have bought Aké from Bournemouth this afternoon. PSG and Liverpool remain interested, but they are only enquiries.”
That would suggest Everton are leading the race for the player then.
If Napoli can’t buy him before selling Koulibaly – which makes sense – and there is no market for him, then they are surely out of the running.
Venerato makes no mention of Manchester United, who have also been linked, although those rumours felt more like an agent pushing things along rather than genuine interest.
That is speculation on our part but the way the rumours are going at the moment, it seems Everton may be close to finally getting a player they’ve been after for some time.
