Everton have made a bid totalling £22.5 million for Jean Clair Todibo but Barcelona would prefer to send the young defender to Juventus instead, according to Sport.
There is a valid reason why Barca have apparently decided against doing business once again with the Toffees.
Everton might have paid the La Liga champions handsomely to take Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina to Goodison Park but, in this case, Barcelona want more than a substantial transfer fee for a man who has spent most his time in Catalonia stuck on the bench.
As Sport points out, Todibo is central to a deal that could see Miralem Pjanic swap Juventus for another bona fide European giant.
Barcelona would love to sign a Bosnian play-maker with Cruyffian DNA running through his veins and, with swap deals set to become the order of the day in an uncertain market, Todibo looks set to go in the other direction.
So unless Everton are ready to throw the likes of Richarlison into the mix, and this feels very unlikely, then their £22.5 million bid for a 20-year-old centre-back looks set to fail.
Todibo has barely kicked a ball in anger for Barca, but he has been nothing short of a revelation since joining Schalke on loan in January; at least until Saturday’s 4-0 thumping by arch rivals Borussia Dortmund.
After a deal for Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes hit the buffers, it looks like Everton’s centre-back search is set to be pushed back to square one again.
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