Everton have recently shown interest in the Benfica defender Jardel, according to claims from Portugal.
Portuguese newspaper O Jogo say the Toffees are one of the clubs who have been after the 30-year-old, alongside Lazio and Villareal.
However, Jardel is set to sign a new contract at the Estadio da Luz, which will tie him to the Portuguese club until 2021.
The club’s vice-captain is also getting a pay rise and, according to O Jogo, would only leave Benfica if he had a very good economic offer for him or for the club.
The newspaper doesn’t go as far as claiming Everton made a bid, and the English club’s interest is described as something that happened “in the past few hours”.
It would look like Ronald Koeman may have been too late on this one, but then it may be a surprise that Everton were interested in the first place. Jardel is a good defender, but he’s firmly rooted where he is, and Koeman may well be looking for younger targets.
