Everton have ‘launched an offensive’ to sign Luis Diaz from Porto but are yet to convince them into a sale.
That’s according to A Bola, who cover the situation today after the Blues made their move for the forward yesterday.
According to their information, Everton are offering €29m plus the possibility of including James Rodriguez on a season-long loan deal.
However, there is one major obstacle to that deal, Porto boss Sérgio Conceição is not a fan of the former Porto star and believes that he would not be an ideal replacement if they were to lose Diaz.
Similarly, the 4-4-2 system that they play doesn’t suit Rodriguez, who is better suited to a 4-3-3 than anything else.
Everton’s interest is ‘real’, but Porto believe he has a higher value than has been presented, particularly after he was top scorer at the Copa America alongside Lionel Messi.
They actually only own 80% of the player, with the rest held by Junior Barranquilla, who are very interested in the deal.
Diaz’s agent is in Portugal and in ‘permanent contact’ with Everton, trying to convince them to speed up the process and offer more in a transfer fee.
They’ve already offered €30m and opened the door to Rodriguez going the other way to sweeten the deal.
However, the latter aspect is being led by Jorge Mendes, and he’s trying to work out the best way to make it happen.
The outline of a loan deal is yet to be defined as Rodriguez earns €6m a year at Everton, and it needs to be clarified if they would cover part of those costs and include a purchase clause. Rodriguez’s willingness is also up for debate.
That doesn’t matter at this stage, though, as Everton need to raise their offer first and foremost if a deal is to happen.
Diaz is Porto’s biggest asset, particularly after the Copa America, and Porto chief Pinto da Costa isn’t interested in a deal worth less than his €80m release clause at this point.
The Blues are yet to reach an agreement with the player, another hurdle.
Unless there is an offer ‘that cannot be refused’, Porto do not intend to let Everton get their man.
