Could Valencia striker Rodrigo’s buyout clause force Everton to break their transfer record?

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Premier League trio Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton are all looking at Rodrigo Moreno, who has been in good from in La Liga for Valencia.

Everton’s current record signing stands at £45 million, the fee they eventually paid Swansea City to sign Gylfi Sigurdsson last summer.

But that may be under threat in a few months’ time, because La Liga giants Valencia are in an almighty position of strength as the Toffees, as well as Tottenham and Brighton, prepare a summer move for the in-form Spanish international Rodrigo Moreno, per Calciomercato.

Now, the 27-year-old is in the form of his life right now. He has an impressive 13 goals in 24 La Liga games this season meaning that, with still two months to go in the campaign, this is the most prolific season of his senior career.

Blessed with speed, versatility and consistency that he did not even show during an impressive spell with Benfica, it is not hard to see why Rodrigo is in demand.

But reports in Calciomercato point out that there is a release clause of £105 million in Rodrigo’s contract, so Valencia are in a very strong position. It would be little surprise if Everton, who are reportedly willing to pay £35 million, would be required to offer a fee in excess of the price they put down for Sigurdsson last summer.

And, despite Rodrigo’s inclusion in the recent Spain squad ahead of Alvaro Morata, there are surely better players Everton can buy for a similar price.

After all, it was only last season that Rodrigo scored just 5 La Liga goals in a terrible individual campaign and, for most of 2017/18, he has been outshone by the former West Ham flop Simone Zaza.

Everton are rather new when it comes to paying top dollar in the transfer market but must learn the value of money. Making Rodrigo their new record signing could be a repeat of the same old mistakes.