Roma are continuing to eye up a deal for Everton midfielder Bernard if they cannot bring Stephan El Shaarawy back to the club.
The Italian side were keen on the Brazilian in the summer transfer window and made a late move to sign him when they couldn’t secure the Italy international’s signature.
That deal eventually fell through at the death, but Bernard’s agent has hinted at a renewed attempt in January, with several reports in Italy suggesting the same.
Corriere Dello Sport corroborate that today, stating that Bernard is an option the club are looking at.
They explain that the Serie A side are keen to reinforce their squad in January and are ‘continuing their pressure’ to bring El Shaarawy back to the club.
He’s keen on the move, but his current club Shanghai Shenhua are not convinced about the idea of loaning him to the Italians.
It was because of this that the negotiations in September collapsed and so, as was the case then, Roma are looking around the market for another option that would satisfy manager Paulo Fonseca.
One of his ‘preferred’ names is Everton midfielder Bernard, whom he worked with at Shakhtar Donetsk and is ‘finding little space’ under Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park.
The Brazilian is said to be mentioned in ‘daily conference calls’ between Fonseca and his staff and is very much one of the names being considered after managing 17 goals and 11 assists in 66 games under the Portuguese during their time together in Ukraine.
There is no mention of an approach to Everton, or indeed whether the Blues would be open to a sale, just that Bernard remains an option that Roma are looking at.
It’s hard to see the Toffees being resistant to a move, though.
Bernard is not first-choice under Ancelotti, and there is a feeling that his relatively large wages could be better spent elsewhere.
They would prefer a permanent deal if they could get one, but if Roma were to offer the right price, even if it were a loan, it’s easy to see Marcel Brands being willing to negotiate.
