Everton have ‘everything in place’ with Lille to secure the signing of central defender Gabriel Magalhães this summer.
The Blues are known to be keen on the Brazilian centre back and have been linked with a move for several months.
They appeared to be edging close to finalising a deal, before the outbreak of Coronavirus across Europe put a major block on the transfer.
Their interest remains, though, and according to Le 10 Sport, everything is already settled between themselves and Lille over the transfer.
They say Everton have not ‘hesitated’ in their negotiations for the 22-year-old because his ‘profile appeals’ to Carlo Ancelotti.
The ‘only thing left to do’ is to get him to sign a contract, although there is no indication on when that will happen given the current situation with COVID-19.
However, Everton may have been handed a major boost in their attempts to get a deal done with Paris Saint-Germain looking unlikely to make their move for him.
They have been following Gabriel for almost a year, but if they don’t manage to make big sales, they won’t be able to buy anyone.
The club are keen to avoid taking risks in terms of Financial Fair Play after seeing Manchester City banned earlier this year.
As a result, they could see Gabriel ‘pass under their noses’ and ‘slip through their fingers’ to Everton without being able to act.
That will undoubtedly come as good news to the Blues, who would have been facing a hard task indeed if they had to convince Gabriel that choosing Goodison Park as his next destination over Paris was his best option.
