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According to Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio, Everton had a medical done with Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes – but have since gone quiet.
It’s claimed that Everton had reached an agreement with Lille for the signing of Gabriel back in February, teeing up a summer move.
Gabriel even had a medical with the Toffees according to this report, meaning his move to Everton was on the verge of being done – but that’s no longer the case.
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The report suggests that Everton have backed away from Gabriel due to the global pandemic, seemingly unable to to commit to the deal now.
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That has allowed Napoli – Carlo Ancelotti’s former club – to swoop in and engineer a move for the Brazilian, and they’re now favourites to get him.
There are still some hurdles to clear; Gabriel wants around £45,000-a-week when Napoli are offering £35,000-a-week, whilst Napoli also need to offload a non-EU player in order to register Gabriel.
That may just give Everton a chance to rekindle a deal, with Napoli having to resolve some issues before the summer transfer window.
Everton do need another centre back, and have been linked with the likes of Mohammed Salisu and Jean-Clair Todibo, but they risk missing out on Gabriel having done so much of the ground work.
In other news, Pep Guardiola claims he can't wait to pick Sergio Aguero in his starting XI