Everton have ‘pulled back’ on a proposed deal for Lille’s Gabriel Magalhães with Napoli now at the front of the queue for his signature.
That’s according to Sky Italia, who say Aurelio De Laurentiis is willing to pay €25m for the Brazilian defender as they look for a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly.
Sky Italia explain that Magalhães had been ‘close’ to a move to Everton in February before the Coronavirus pandemic hit Europe.
The Blues had reached an agreement with Lille over a €24m move, and the player had already undergone a medical with the club ahead of the move.
Everton then ‘pulled back, giving up’ the deal according to the website, who don’t reveal the cause of that decision.
However, the likelihood is that COVID-19 is the cause, with Sky Italia journalist Gianluca di Marzio claiming, according to Il Napoli online, that Magalhães’ medical with Everton was skipped as a result of the outbreak.
In any case, Everton’s apparent pulling away from the deal has left Napoli leading the chase for his signature, and they are ready to make their move.
They are happy to pay Lille’s asking price for the centre back and offer him €2m a year in wages, although Magalhães is looking for €2.5m.
That is a minor hurdle, though, with Napoli working to open up a non-EU player space in their squad before ‘sinking the blow’ and completing the deal.
Where that will leave Everton remains to be seen. They are in need of a new centre back, and it has been clear for some time that they are scouring Europe for one.
If finances are as tight as they appear to be, that may prove difficult, and perhaps rumours linking them with free agents such as Thiago Silva are not as wide of the mark as first thought.
