Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes is set for a massive pay rise at Everton with Record reporting he could earn almost £1 million a year at the Premier League club.
Who will arrive at Goodison Park first?
Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool legend who looks set to take over from Carlo Ancelotti and test the loyalty of everyone on the blue half of Stanley Park, or a Brazilian midfielder who lifted the Primeira Liga title in May?
While Everton are ramping up talks for what would be the most contentious managerial appointment in recent Premier League history – a George Graham for the modern era if you will – the Toffees are also closing in on a deal to make Nunes their first signing of the summer.
According to the Daily Mail, the Rio-born 22-year-old is set to join Everton on loan with an obligation-to-buy clause worth £20 million included in his contract.
Will Nunes play under Benitez at Everton?
And reports coming out of Portugal have shed more light on the situation of a talented central midfielder who was the subject of a bid from Newcastle United a few months ago.
Nunes is in line to quintuple his wages at Goodison Park, earning five times the amount he takes home at Sporting Lisbon.
If that’s true, a man who made 31 appearances as Sporting tasted domestic success for the first time in two decades will earn £20,000 a week at his new club.
However, one big question mark still hangs over a deal that would strengthen a midfield which, while boasting the considerable talents of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure, isn’t blessed with depth.
The Mail suggests Nunes would have arrived alongside Nuno Espirito Santo, with super-agent Jorge Mendes playing a key role in both deals.
Now, with Everton seemingly turning to 61-year-old Benitez instead, where does that leave Nunes?
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