OPINION
With reports that Everton are negotiating with Barcelona for defender Yerry Mina, they must turn their attention to other targets instead.
As claimed today by the Liverpool Echo, a fee has not yet been agreed between the two clubs but talks are ongoing, with the La Liga side looking for a fee in excess of £30million for the central defender.
However, the Toffees should stop any interest or negotiations in regards to Mina, as he’s not worth the reported fee.
Just six months ago, FC Barcelona signed the Colombian defender from Brazilian side Palmeiras for a reported £10.6million (TransferMarkt).
The 23-year-old made a handful of first team appearances for the Catalan club but didn’t really get enough game time to impress or disappoint, with fans yet to have seen enough of him to form a judgement.
Then he goes to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, plays ok and scores a few goals from set pieces and suddenly, his value skyrockets by over 300%, with his club now wanting in excess of three times what they paid for him in January.
However, it’s hard to figure out what exactly Mina has done in that six months to warrant such a substantial increase in value. Yes, he’s a young player, decent defender and has shown a lot of promise. But when you consider Ben Gibson, who’s just moved to Burnley from Middlesbrough for a reported £15million (TransferMarkt), half of what Mina would reportedly cost, the deal just does not make sense economically.
In fact, Gibson is the better defender with more experience and he’s only two years older.
Everton boss Marco Silva must walk away from this deal before he gets involved in a bidding war and pays far too much for the defender when there are other cheaper options, and he can then use the leftovers to strengthen other areas of his squad.