Portuguese newspaper Record reports that Everton have joined Tottenham in a pursuit of Sporting midfielder Adrien Silva.
It’s claimed that not only are Everton interested, but they’ve already submitted what is called an ‘initial offer’. That offer, at €25m, has been rejected by Sporting, say Record.
Sporting will sell the 28 year old midfielder this summer, but want someone to pay €30m for him, and that’s been dragging on with Tottenham for some time. Spurs were said to have initially offered €20m and then there were further Portuguese claims of structured deals being put forward, with bonuses added to try and please Sporting.
Record point out that with it being very public knowledge Everton are getting a huge amount for Romelu Lukaku, Sporting believe they can push the club for a further €5m in the deal.
Tottenham are ‘still in the game’ and Record state that Sporting would welcome an auction between the English clubs. Adrien himself is keen on a move to the Premier League, and had been willing to join Leicester City last summer, so he’d jump at the chance to join Tottenham or Everton.
Despite the Portuguese insistence, we’ve always had a lingering doubt about Tottenham interest. With Everton, it’s also hard to tell how much is correct with the club being linked to big Portuguese moves this week seemingly based on their ability and willingness to spend.
Earlier this week Everton were said to have made a €45m offer for Benfica’s Raul Jimenez. That was farcical, €25m for Adrien isn’t, but that of course doesn’t make it true.
