Barely used at Barcelona but shining for his country during the World Cup, Yerry Mina escaped his Catalan nightmare and signed for Everton over the summer.
Spending over £27m on the 24-year-old, the Toffees are yet to play the Colombian defender since his arrival due to injury, but the idea is he’ll be an important part of Marco Silva’s plans when fit.
What happened to Mina at Barcelona is happening again, this time with Malcom, who, like the Everton man, arrived as an alternative to who Ernesto Valverde really wanted to sign.
Sport report on Monday that the Spanish manager originally wanted Iñigo Martinez, but was given Mina, and his desire to see Chelsea’s Willian at his club ended up with the then Bordeaux star being pinched from under Roma’s noses to give him a right-winger.
However, Malcom isn’t what Valverde was looking for, and the Brazilian has been left out of the Barcelona squad to face Tottenham, who were also heavily linked with him, in the Champions League.
The Catalan newspaper state there’s a good chance the 21-year-old could end up as the ‘Yerry Mina II’, who was eventually being sold off to the highest bidder.
Sport’s explanation is that Valverde is only interested in playing the best team at his disposal for the next game, and isn’t a manager looking at the club’s future.
He just wants to win now.
For Malcom, that isn’t good news at all, but it might be for Everton if they fancy picking up another Barcelona player in the summer.
