Fabrizio Romano: Everton were trying to hijack £27 million man from Spanish club
It has been a week since the transfer window has ended and now the failed attempts to sign players, hijack deals are surfacing. Everton tried to hijack the deal for Matheus Cunha who is now at Atletico Madrid.
Cunha is one of the most exciting young forwards in Europe right now and was being tracked by several clubs. Premier League sides were keen on him this summer and the Toffees were trying to bring a forward who can act as a backup to Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Moise Kean’s future at Goodison Park was uncertain after a stellar loan spell at PSG. The Parisiens wanted to take him on loan for another season but the Toffees rejected the proposal. Kean was keen to leave Everton and he finally got his move. As a result of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Manchester United, Juventus signed Kean on a two year loan with an obligation to buy.
Rafa Benitez doesnt seem to count on Cenk Tosun and he is eyeing a return to Besiktas. Everton had been linked with several forwards over summer and Cunha was one of them. The Brazilian was set to move to Atletico Madrid and had an agreement in place but Everton tried to hijack the deal in the final moments.
Everton tried to hijack the deal for Matheus Cunha
According to Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on his Here we Go podcast, has given insight on how Everton tried to hijack the deal. In the end, their attempt failed and the 22 year old signed for Los Rojiblancos for a fee worth £27 million.
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"Yes, they [Everton] were trying to hijack the deal from Atletico Madrid. Atletico Madrid had this deal in place for Cunha for days, but they were not signing because they were waiting for the right moment. In these two-three days of wait, Everton with Rafa Benitez were trying to hijack the deal for Matheus Cunha.They made a proposal to the player, they had serious intention to sign Cunha but no way. The player was really happy to join Atletico, he had an agreement with Atleti and wanted to respect the agreement and so there was no chance for Everton but they were really interested in Cunha. (via Fabrizio Romano via Here We Go podcast)"
After missing out on Cunha, the Royal Blues moved to sign Salomon Rondon who had previously worked with Rafa Benitez at Newcastle United and Dalian Professional. Rondon was the only incoming transfer on deadline day as the Luis Diaz deal fell apart.
The Venezuelan striker will ease Calvert-Lewin’s goalscoring load and will be a lethal backup in the Everton ranks. Had the Toffees managed to sign Cunha, they would’ve had a young attacker with a long term plan, a similar project to Kean.
Rondon could be in line to make his debut against Burnley on 13th September as the Toffees resume their Premier League adventure after the international break.
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Will Salomon Rondon be a success for the Toffees?