A few days ago we covered a report in AS that Atlético Madrid were lining up replacements for Santiago Arias.
These came after the Liverpool Echo had claimed the fullback was a target for Everton this summer. They believe that Director of Football Marcel Brands has highlighted the Colombian having signed Arias during his time at PSV Eindhoven.
In their report, AS backed up those claims and highlighted that Atletico would be willing to sell. Furthermore, they’d already identified Barcelona’s Nelson Semedo as a potential replacement.
Today, El Gol has gone one further. According to them, Everton would be ‘willing to put €40m (£35.5m) donw’ for Arias. That’s a price Atletico would be more than willing to accept, given it’d represent a €29m profit on a player they only signed last summer. They also add Girona’s Pedro Porro to the list of potential replacements lined up by Atlético.
This, though, appears to be a case of wildly inflated numbers by El Gol, something they have previous for doing. €40m would be a big price for Arias and would actually put him among the most expensive defenders of all time.
Everton may have money to spend this summer but their days of overspending are long gone. Brands is a keen negotiator who loves to negotiate a price down, as proven with the deal for Andre Gomes. He’s also unlikely to spend such a significant sum on adding to an area that isn’t a priority for the Toffees.
That is not to say there is no interest. Everton do want a right-back and there is the link with Brands. The player also recently admitted that there would be discussions about his future, adding fuel to that fire.
“Playing 33 games with Atlético de Madrid this season is an honour for me, it’s something very nice. Obviously, I want to play more, but that is step by step. Here in the Copa América, I want to play and contribute what I can,” he told Mundo Deportivo after Columbia’s win against Qatar yesterday.
“I’m focused on the national team, on having a good Copa America and then looking at what’s happening with Atlético de Madrid. I have a contract with Atlético, and I have to wait for the club to say, to see what happens.”
Arias wants to stay, although if a good enough offer comes in, it seems Atletico would be more than willing to sell. A €40m bid from Everton, however, seems doubtful.
