OPINION
When a club is linked with making a potential swoop from European giants Barcelona, the fans are going to sit up and take notice – and that will definitely be the case with Everton right now.
The Daily Mail have claimed that club chief Marcel Brands, who is in charge of running the transfer business at Goodison Park, has made his way over to the Nou Camp to hold crunch talks with the Catalan heavyweights and reigning La Liga champions over moves for defensive duo Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina.
Getting face-to-face talks with Barca is no easy feat and the Toffees must mean business if they are willing to send Brands over.
However, they must be looking at maximising their time in negotiations by identifying any other talents that could help boost their squad.
Of course, for a club of Barcelona’s stature, they are going to request a premium price for their stars, but is that the case for those outcast from the first team?
Spanish publication Sport claim that attacking duo Rafinha and Paco Alcacer, an attacking midfielder and a centre forward respectively, have been made to train away from the senior side this summer.
Football fans worldwide will know just how much talent the pair have at their disposal, and if their qualities are going to waste, then Brands must be launching a cheeky bid to take them to Everton – when in Rome (or Barcelona, in this case) and all that.
There is little doubt that would bring some serious quality to the Toffees’ line up and are the sort of players Marco Silva would love to have in his side, and after last season’s big spending failure, these are two who have proven their worth.
With talks scheduled imminently, what harm is there in Brands asking the question?
Who knows, Everton might be taking back a quartet from Barca this summer.