The latest on Everton’s supposed transfer interest in LOSC Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes has emerged.
According to Sky Italia, as cited by Sport Witness, the Toffees have ‘pulled back’ on wanting to sign the centre-back from the Ligue 1 club after a deal had already been agreed.
Prior to the current viral outbreak hitting Europe, the Merseyside outfit had agreed a €24m (£21.7m) fee and the 22-year-old had already had a medical.
However, the report states that Carlo Ancelotti’s outfit are now ‘giving up’ on the supposed transfer.
This has then allowed Napoli to take themselves to the front of the queue for the player’s signature as they are willing to pay €25m (£22.6m) for the defender.
Magalhaes currently has three years left on his contract with Lille and a market value of £15.75m according to Transfermarkt.
TIF Thoughts…
Judging from the player’s statistics during the 2019/20 season, it seems that the Toffees may be missing out on an impressive young talent.
This season, the 22-year-old scored a strong 6.93/10 average rating across 24 Ligue 1 outings (per WhoScored).
Should the defender have earned the same average rating for Everton in the Premier League this season he would be the side’s fourth-best performer (per WhoScored).
Are the Toffees making a mistake by not signing Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille?Yes, it is a mistake
No, he's not good enough
|
Furthermore, his statistics would suggest that he is a defender of similar ilk to Yerry Mina as the two have both scored similar figures in key defensive statistics.
In Ligue 1 this season, Magalhaes made 1.7 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game on average and Mina has made 1.5 tackles and 1.0 interceptions per Premier League game.
However, with Everton rumoured to be making a free transfer swoop for Thiago Silva (via Express), it may be that they are opting for the defensive option who does not require a transfer fee.