Everton showed an interest in Chelsea’s Willian though Arsenal have agreed a three-year deal worth £100,000 with the Brazil international, according to ESPN.
Considering that the veteran wing wizard has made it clear on multiple occasions that he wants to stay in London, Everton always had a mountain to climb as they looked to lure Willian to Merseyside.
And with reports suggesting that a move to Arsenal is all-but done, with the 31-year-old expected to join an already Iberian-influenced dressing room at the Emirates next week, The Toffees’ interest appears to have come to nothing.
ESPN claims that the former Shakhtar Donetsk winger will sign a contract until 2023, worth £100,000-a-week, at the FA Cup winners.
Interestingly, Arsenal appear to be moving increasingly towards an agent-driven transfer strategy with Kia Joorabchian seemingly playing a key role behind the scenes at the Emirates.
Joorabchian, who has an excellent relationship with technical director Edu Gaspar, was central to the deals that saw David Luiz and Cedric Soares move to the three-time Premier League champions in recent months.
The Iranian super-agent is also understood to be a close confident of compatriot and Everton chief Farhad Moshiri.
It is surely no coincidence that Joorabchian counts Willian, not to mention Richarlison and Bernard, among an extensive array of high-profile clients.
He also added Sergio Reguilon to his roster last week, amid claims from Sky that Everton made an £18 million bid for the Real Madrid left-back.
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