‘Not less than €35m’ – Everton in picture for signing, and Benitez asking board for action

Cast your mind back to 2018 and 2019 and you may remember Everton being linked with an Espanyol defender named Mario Hermoso.

His contract was running down, the club needed sales, and Hermoso was widely wanted. Espanyol’s problem was that the player’s former club, Real Madrid, were due a big cut of the transfer fee.

That dragged things out and pushed the fee higher, with Atletico Madrid eventually paying €25-30m to seal the signing.

Fichajes now report that Everton are again interested, joining Arsenal and Aston Villa as Premier League clubs keen on a deal.

Atletico Madrid haven’t put their player on the market, but would listen to offers of ‘not less than €35m’. Espanyol are due 20% of the fee, having likely learned from selling the player, and giving a chunk to Real Madrid, that securing percentages of future sales is a really good idea.

Fichajes say that Rafa Benitez has been asking Everton’s board for signings since he arrived at the club, with it made to sound like he’s very keen to have his squad improved quickly.