Everton respond to Barcelona’s move for Amadou Onana as Manchester United and Arsenal may pay the cost.
Everton has already informed Barcelona’s agents that they are not interested in decreasing the asking price for Amadou Onana, according to SPORT.
The Catalan newspaper said on their website on February 26 that the Camp Nou giants want to pay €40 million [£34.2 million] for the Belgian star, while the Toffees want €60 million [£51.3 million].
That has left sports director Deco looking for an alternate approach to persuade Everton to do business, with a Barcelona player included in a cash-plus-player swap deal being one possibility.
Barcelona is battling in the battle since Arsenal and Manchester United are also interested in the 22-year-old, with both apparently willing to pay the Toffees’ asking price.
Barcelona could send player to Everton to tip balance in Amadou Onana transfer race
Deco’s belief that €40 million will be enough to capture the Everton player, whether by convincing the club to part with him or by outbidding transfer competitors, is extremely unrealistic.
If the former Lille player leaves, there may be some merit in removing him from the Premier League in order to avoid facing him in opposition.
However, if he is sold, the club will undoubtedly be unable to be selective about the destination when maximum recompense is the aim.
However, Onana has been linked with a move away since arriving at Goodison Park two summers ago, so if Sean Dyche can steer the club back to top flight safety, which has become more likely with the return of four points but is far from guaranteed with a second hearing on the way, the midfielder may not leave.
Spending fell off a cliff in January following last summer’s spree, but is expected to pick up again at the end of the season, so with Arsenal spending £105 million on Declan Rice from West Ham [Sky Sports, 17 July] and Chelsea agreeing to pay up to £115 million for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo [Guardian, 14 August], the idea of Onana leaving for less than £35 million appears absurd.
