Duncan Castles has been speaking on the latest edition of The Transfer Window Podcast and he has been talking about Everton’s pursuit of Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Castles discussed many other transfer stories but spent a bit of time on the Toffees and Doucoure.
It looks as if Watford and Everton are close to agreeing a transfer fee for the Frenchman, but personal terms could prove to be a problem.
He said: “They’ve [Everton] made an offer of £22m to Watford for Doucoure.
“Watford aren’t really in a position to resist now in that they have to raise money because of their relegation to the Championship and to reduce their wage bill.
“My information is that Watford want £25m for the player, so we’re close to an agreement on price there, I think there could be a difficulty with salary.
“The guidance I have is that Doucoure is looking for a salary of considerably over £100,000 per week to move to Everton, [he] believes he can get that. If you factor that into a five-year contract, you’re looking at a gross cost of over £50m for a player who will have no resale value by the time he completes that contract.”
Would you meet Doucoure's demands?
No, wouldn't give him those wages
Yes, he would be worth it
TIF Thoughts…
The 27-year-old, who is valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, has played in the Premier League for four seasons with Watford in which he has scored 17 goals and provided 12 assists.
His WhoScored rating from last season was 6.67 making him Watford’s eighth-highest rated player and if you compare him with Everton’s squad that would put him in ninth place.
So, with the Toffees also trying to sign Allan, do they really need Doucoure as well?
If Castles is correct, then the clubs are close to agreeing a fee, but these demands from Doucoure could prove to be a problem.
It will be interesting to see how this transfer story develops as the window progresses.