Everton Closing in on £50m Deal for Watford’s Richarlison
By Tom Power
Toffees set to sign Brazilian attacker from Hornets for monumental fee in the coming days
Everton are set to break their club-record transfer fee by shelling out £50m to reunite Watford’s Richarlison with Marco Silva.
Multiple sources in the press, including the Liverpool Echo and Daily Mail, have reported that the Blues are almost certain to land the forward in the coming days.
Richarlison enjoyed a fruitful working relationship with Silva during the latter’s time in charge at Vicarage Road.
And, despite a falling out between the two clubs after Everton’s pursuit of Silva last November, a deal appears to have been struck.
The eye-watering fee will eclipse Everton’s previous record of spending £45m on Icelandic playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Silva has been keen to be reunited with Richarlison at Goodison Park all summer long.
The 41-year-old had to move players on to trim his squad’s size before making movements to bring players in though.
Director of football Marcel Brands is also a big fan of the Brazilian and apparently regretted not signing him whilst at PSV Eindhoven.
The duo seem set to land a key target now, however, with talks advancing over a possible deal for the winger.
Richarlison scored five goals and laid on five assists for Watford with fellow Portuguese speaker Silva at the Watford helm early last season.
His form, however, tailed off dramatically after Silva was sacked in January for a run of horrific form in Hertfordshire.
Watford shelled out £11.5m to lure Richarlison to the Premier League last summer from Fluminense.
They will pocket a huge profit on that fee now if the reports of a £50m deal are to be believed.
Fans shouldn’t be surprised to see Watford’s pursuit of compensation over Silva disappear into thin air now either.
The Hornets should be happy with a £50m fee for Richarlison and, to compromise with the Toffees, should drop that claim for money despite Silva being sacked six months ago.
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The possible arrival of Richarlison would surely sound the death knell for Yannick Bolasie’s Everton career too, with the winger almost certain to join a Turkish club on loan.