Everton’s future hopes of signing Real Betis winger Luiz Henrique may have been handed a boost as Betis president Ángel Haro has admitted they are “attentive to all options” regarding the player.
Haro has been speaking at the press conference to announce Johnny Cardoso, with his comments relayed by Mundo Deportivo.
The Spanish club currently find themselves in a situation where they need to sell before they can buy, meaning several of their current stars are being linked with moves away.
Henrique is one of those with suitors and several reports have made it clear that Everton are keeping an eye on his progress ahead of a possible move in future.
Indeed, a report yesterday stated as much, although it insisted that Betis were confident Everton couldn’t afford a deal so it wouldn’t be happening any time soon.
That confidence presumably comes from the fact the Toffees are very much living hand to mouth at this moment in time and have publically admitted they don’t have transfer funds, while also battling two breaches of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
It means paying big fees, or any fees for players, simply isn’t on the agenda for now and Betis were seemingly therefore confident they couldn’t get Henrique.
That was essentially an arrow to the knee of their transfer hopes, but Haro has insisted they are open to a deal if the figure offered is ‘reasonable’.
“The club is attentive to all options,” he said.
“When there is an option to leave, we talk to the player and the coach, and the club assesses whether the amounts are reasonable.
“There is interest in our players, he is an important player, he still has a lot to give us.”
The question, then, is whether Everton can work out a deal that satisfies the Spanish side. Director of football Kevin Thelwell has been proactive in that regard since his arrival.
For example, he convinced Udinese to sell Beto in the summer for €30m but that fee was deferred until this summer, while they’ve similarly paid for Dwight McNeil in instalments rather than up front.
Whether Betis would accept such an arrangement for Henrique remains to be seen but Haro’s insistence they’re open to ideas certainly means the door isn’t completely closed.
