Earlier on Monday, Sacha Tavolieri in Belgium surprised everyone by claiming that Everton had put €40m on the table to sign El Bilal Touré from Almeria.
That came as a bit of a shock when everyone knows the current financial state of the Goodison Park residents isn’t great, but the journalist has now provided some clarification, and it all makes a bit more sense.
The reason for this is that Tavolieri explains what he has learned since the initial information he received, which is that Everton have ‘formally expressed by mail’ (we’re hoping he means email) that they want to trigger the €40m release clause in the striker’s contract, but want to pay the fee in ‘3 to 4 instalments’.
Should Almeria accept, that would be a way of making the deal affordable for the Toffees rather than just throwing a lump sum at the La Liga side.
Normally, for a clause to be triggered fully, the full amount needs to be paid at once, which is why the Spaniards still have a say in all this.
What could then happen, if they turn it down, is Everton coming back with an offer that exceeds €40m to be paid in instalments, much like what Chelsea did when they were trying to get Sporting CP to accept their offer for Manuel Ugarte.
One to keep an eye on, because Sean Dyche’s side seemingly mean business here.
#UPDATE
🔵💬 I understand now #EvertonFC formally expressed by mail to #UDAlmeria their intentions to lift the release clause of 40M€ but wants to do it in 3 to 4 installments. #EFC
⚪️ #FulhamFC considers El Bilal Touré as a priority target if Aleksandar #Mitrovic🇷🇸 leaves… https://t.co/wsLWFNVlLW pic.twitter.com/WW6pwbtRkz— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) July 3, 2023
