Any Everton fans wondering why the club haven’t done the obvious in the last few weeks and signed Mauro Icardi on a free transfer, may have just been provided with an answer.
Everyone knows Everton’s need for a new striker at this point. Folarin Balogun’s last minute decision on deadline day left them with just Thierno Barry up front.
The Frenchman has shown signs of improvement this season but, asking him to be Everton’s leading man and only striker is questionable to say the least.
The belief is that the Toffees will enter the market again in January. Indeed, a report this week indicated that they are scouting Nicolo Tresoldi at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday.
One potential option for them had been to sign Mauro Icardi. He’s currently a free agent after leaving Galatasaray in the summer. Reports from both Türkiye and Argentina made it clear that Everton had also made overtures about a move.
€5m demand
No deal happened, and TyC Sports may have an explanation. They report that Icardi had offers from Real Betis and Valencia recently.
The latter were the first to enquire about him. However, they discovered that the forward was requesting €5m to join the club. That immediately put an end to any further negotiations.
“Someone reached out to Mauro Icardi to see if he wanted to come to Valencia, and the Argentine asked for €5m. The response was blunt: “That was the end of any possibility,” a source stated.
Real Betis are now exploring a possible deal. Indeed, Manuel Pellegrini is believed to see him as an option to help navigate their demanding schedule. The question is whether the Spanish side want to pay that aforementioned €5m.
Too much to be tempting
That figure has already seen off several other suitors. And it is likely why Everton weren’t keen this summer either.
It’s already been well established that their owners pulled funding at the end of the window. Paying €5m – which is likely after-tax given Icardi was coming from Türkiye – would not have fit into the budget.
There would also been very real concerns about paying €5m to a 33-year-old striker too. It is certainly something that a financially savvy side who’ve been in trouble for big contracts in recent years wouldn’t do.
And so, it is perhaps why no deal has been done. And Icardi continues to search for a new club months after the transfer window closed.
