Everton’s efforts to sign Wilfred Ndidi on a free transfer may have been handed a boost as he’s rejected a contract offer from Sevilla.
That’s according to Estadio Deportivo, who say the midfielder’s wage demands have made a move to the Spanish side difficult at this moment in time.
Ndidi is currently a free agent after his contract with Leicester came to an end and is yet to make a decision about where he will go next.
Leicester have made attempts to get him signed to a new deal at the club for their return to the Premier League while several other suitors have also made offers to him.
Everton are one of them, with various reports over the last few months indicating that they are keen, and it explained towards the end of last month that they were providing tough competition for his signature.
The Spanish club have ‘tried to really go’ for the footballer, offering him a contract worth €1.5m per season plus a prorated signing bonus paid out over the years of his contract.
Ndidi rejected the proposal, though, as it represented a major drop from the €4.5m a year he was earning at Leicester. He wants to maintain that, or even improve on it, presumably, and so Sevilla’s offer was turned down.
He represents an ‘impossible mission’ for Sevilla according to Estadio, who also say that other linked clubs such as Real Betis or Barcelona may also struggle to get him because of his wage demands.
Thus, Everton may have a clearer route, although whether they’d want to offer such wages remains to be seen.
They’ve been keen to reduce their wages over the last few years and it seems unlikely that after letting Andre Gomes go this summer because of his big wages, they’d suddenly want to offer Ndidi similar terms.
They are, though, far more capable of getting closer to the midfielder’s demands than their Spanish counterparts, which may mean they can edge themselves out in front in this particular race.
