Rafa Benitez wanted Everton target Iddrisu Baba at Real Madrid, as reported by Ghana Soccer Net, but looks set to miss out again with a £40 million release clause potentially scuppering his Premier League hopes.
For the second time in the last few years, Benitez is destined for disappointment in his pursuit of an all-action Ghana international.
According to Football Ghana, Real Madrid were ‘close to reaching an agreement’ over the signing of Baba during the Spaniard’s short-lived spell at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2015/16.
It is understood that a disagreement between Baba’s agent and the Real Madrid chiefs put pay to that, however.
Six years on, Benitez could be about to miss out on Baba again, albeit for a very different reason.
Do Everton really have no chance of landing Iddrisu Baba?
The Accra-born enforcer has a release clause in his contract worth just shy of £40 million. And Real Mallorca, who signed Baba from Leganes back in 2015, have made it clear that he will not be sold for a penny less than that.
Given that Everton were restricted to a summer spend of just £1.7 million during Benitez’s first few weeks at the helm, it almost goes without saying that they will not be making any £40 million signings in the New Year.
The Toffees have spent (or should that be ‘wasted’) over half a billion on new signings since Farhad Moshiri became the club’s majority shareholder in 2016.
As such, Everton are now being forced to cut their cloth accordingly days. Rumoured January deals for Kieran Trippier and Dusan Vlahovic feel about as likely as Alex Iwobi transforming into Goodison’s answer to Kevin de Bruyne.
Benitez has accumulated his fair share of critics since taking over from Carlo Ancelotti last summer.
But surely, given that he was handed a tiny fraction of the budget afforded to his predecessors, the 61-year-old deserves some slack.
It was not he who spent unholy amounts on Iwobi, Yannick Bolasie, Davy Klaassen and Moise Kean after all.
In fact, two of his Everton additions – Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend – look like some of the club’s most inspired signings in recent memory.
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