Everton are set to end their pursuit of Barcelona defender Yerry Mina after extensive negotiations, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The outlet claims that the Colombian defender, who is rated at over £30million by the Catalan club, is proving to be too expensive.
The report reveals that the Toffees are reluctant to be drawn into a bidding war for the central defender, with talks between the two clubs continuing to prove difficult.
After Ashley Williams joined Stoke City on loan last week, the club are in need of defensive reinforcements, with Middlesbrough’s Ben Gibson and Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo both on the club’s list to replace the Welshman.
OPINION
The club are right to walk away from this deal at the price for Yerry Mina is getting completely out of hand, the Catalan club paid a third of their reported £30million asking price for him in January of this year so quite what he’s done to deserve a huge price increase is truly a mystery. The Colombian had a decent World Cup and scored a few goals, but that doesn’t mean he’s worth their inflated valuation, quite the opposite in fact. After giving up on Mina, they cannot target Marcos Rojo as he would be a disaster at Goodison Park. Remember Ramiro Funes Mori Everton fans? Well, Rojo is just like that, only more reckless, if you can begin to imagine that. The club need to look further than just English football in order to secure a good defender for a decent price as they are out there, signing Rojo would not be the answer to their defensive problems, it would only make them worse.