‘England calls for Jimenez’. That’s how Portuguese newspaper Record describes the player’s situation on their front page today, as if a Premier League club was really interested in signing him.
Jimenez has been the subject of big money links with Everton and West Ham this summer, but neither looked overly serious.
Despite the attractive headline, Record don’t have much to say. It’s claimed that Jimenez’s representatives are set to ‘make more efforts’ to find a solution for the player in the next week, especially because he hasn’t been getting the game time he wants.
Yes, that means he’s a bench player this season, like in the one before. But how much does president Luís Filipe Vieira want from his sale? A club record fee, of course.
England is pointed out as the most likely destination for the striker, where he’s ‘well referenced’. But it’s still not clear who would bid for him this month.
It’s claimed that despite recent West Ham links, there aren’t any official bids for the player on the table right now. The biggest one came from Everton, who offered only €25m, which is more than a fair price for the player.
At the time Everton reportedly made the offer, the amount wasn’t revealed, and a few days later, the very same Record claimed there was a €45m bid for the player on the table, with Benfica demanding €50m to let him go.
Was this some bluff from Benfica to make Everton raise their bid? Of course not. Who could imagine such a thing?
Anyway, it didn’t work. Everton and West Ham may both be Premier League clubs with money to burn, but they’re not completely naive.
Meanwhile, as the player’s representatives try to sort out a transfer, it sounds much more like ‘Jimenez calls for England’ rather than the opposite.
A €25m deal may not be the worst in the world for either Everton or West Ham, especially with the big Mexico marketing opportunities that Jimenez brings. The Hammers could have dual sombreros with Jimenez and Javier Hernandez.
From Benfica’s viewpoint, they’ll do well to get more than the €25m Everton allegedly offered.
