Earlier this month, when Newcastle United’s interest in the Benfica midfielder Andreas Samaris started being reported, newspaper A Bola claimed Everton had also joined the race for him.
At the time, we pointed out the story sounded a little strange, maybe with someone using imagined Everton interest to try and push Newcastle United to offer more.
Things have changed since then, and the latest reports from Portugal have been claiming that Samaris should head to Newcastle on a deal of €15m plus bonuses.
And now Jornal de Notícias comes up saying Everton seem 
to have pulled out of the race. They claim the club were one of the interested sides but ‘apparently lost’ the fight for the midfielder.
Rather than Everton losing out, it seems the plan to use the club didn’t work as well as Benfica hoped, with the Portuguese club now having to compromise on their asking price.
If Everton’s €16m had existed, and still did, Benfica would likely grasp it.
