The rumours are continuing to circulate about Everton forward Richarlison and his future, with Chelsea as the latest leading contender.
No Everton supporter is surprised that it looks increasingly certain that the Brazilian star will be leaving Merseyside this summer.
He has given solid service to the Toffees’ since signing in 2018 and his goals late last season were critical to helping keep his team up.
And so, after last season’s almost terminally disasterous campaign, it is hardly surprising he is tempted by the chance to move on to a club in Europe or the Champions League and the chance to win trophies.
I think Richarlison certainly has the talent to play at that level, and as he’s now a regular starter for his country so his profile is certainly high enough.
First Arsenal and Tottenham were apparently leading the race for his signature, but now it appears as though their London rivals Chelsea have moved to the front of the queue.
There are as yet no clear bids been made and so all this is just media and paper talk so we will have to wait and see whether any of this becomes concrete.
It sounds like an obvious thing to say but Everton must ensure they get a good deal for the Brazilian if he is to leave.
Far too often in the recent past this club has not done so and taken a loss on selling-on a player. There have been exceptions such as Idrissa Gueye who the Blues’ made a decent profit on.
We’re seeing this summer an example of this terrible failing with three players leaving the Toffees’ this summer on a free. Those players are Cenk Tosun, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fabian Delph.
These three individual departures have cost Everton around £80 million effectively. That’s a staggering amount of money to waste on transfer fees and wages.
The consequences of all this waste has accumulated over several years and now has contributed hugely to the awful financial state the club is in.
So, going back to Richarlison the Blues’ need to reverse this trend and ensure they get the very best deal they can.
What represents a good deal? I suppose the Toffees’ need to recoup around £50 million, which is the figure generally being quoted.
The only caveat might be if the club, perhaps because of Lampard’s background, are able to get one or two good quality youngsters on loan like Armando Broja perhaps.
The one problem with that strategy is the fact Everton might well need the money from a potential Richarlison sale to fund the rebuild of the squad this summer.
Hopefully, the release of these players and others could free up enough resources to give Frank Lampard bring in some fresh talent soon, regardless of whether Richarlison is still at Goodison Park or not.