Diego Llorente looked to be an exciting signing for Everton but it appears that he will now swap Real Madrid for La Liga rivals Sociedad instead.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman
With Everton scouring the market for a youthful centre-back to take the reins from Phil Jagielka over the next few seasons, it appears that majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri will be forced to part with a huge chunk of his hard earned cash.
Homegrown talents Michael Keane and Ben Gibson both have price tags in excess of £20 million on their heads despite minimal Premier League experience while Chris Smalling will not come cheap despite Manchester United letting him leave this summer, as reported by The Telegraph.
Manchester United’s Chris Smalling could cost £15m
Therefore, it is little wonder Everton had made a beeline for Real Madrid youngster Diego Llorente. According to Marca, the 23-year-old had piqued the Toffees interested after an excellent season on loan at Malaga.
With bargain-hunting Steve Walsh now operating as director of football, that was no surprise.
Real to Real
Diego Llorente
Llorente was simply superb at La Rosaleda last season, a regular presence in their defence and helping them finish a respectable 11th place in La Liga despite possessing one of the divisions most limited budgets.
And Malaga’s famous 2-0 triumph over Barcelona in April owed much to Llorente’s maturity and natural presence at the back. Man marking none other than Luis Suarez out of the game, Barca lost in the Costa Del Sol for the first time in 14 years.
Marca claimed that Everton would have to pay Real Madrid £12 million for the one-time Spain international. Yet, based on that performance alone, Llorente was worth every penny.
However, they look set to be disappointed. Because Marca now claim that Real Sociedad have agreed a deal worth far less than Everton were expected to pay. In fact, Llorente could cost La Real just £7 million.
And there is little doubt that he will be worth far more a few years in the future.
Llorente looks like one that got away for Everton.
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