Everton have reportedly turned down a €100m (£85m) bid from Barcelona for Richarlison. The Brazilian is currently partway through his second season at Goodison Park after joining the club from Watford for around £35m in July 2018.
Since then, the 22-year-old has gone on to score 24 goals in 65 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees, also registering six assists.
According to Sky Sports, this form has proved to be enough for the forward to attract interest from five-time Champions League winners Barcelona, with Everton understood to have rejected the mouth-watering £85m bid.
Barça’s sporting director Eric Abidal is thought to admire Richarlison’s abilities, believing that the player would compliment Luis Suarez’s style of play perfectly.
Abidal made an enquiry for the forward in the summer but Everton did not entertain their advances. It had previously been reported that Barca were in fact looking for a short term replacement for Suarez rather than a player to play with him, as the Uruguayan is out with a knee injury until April.
The club have been linked with a move for Valencia’s Rodrigo in the past few weeks but negotiations appear to have reached an impasse, with Barcelona reportedly refusing to pay the €30m fee being demanded – yet are able to go and bid €100m for Richarlison.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has also been touted as a potential £50m target, though Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta publicly stated his desire to keep the Gunners’ top goal scorer. Though the offer is immense, Everton are said to have dismissed the offer without hesitation as they view Richarlison as a vital part of Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for the club in the future.
(Text courtesy of Vanguard)