The Toffees were heavily linked with a move for the young central defender.
The Daily Star claimed previously that Everton were interested in signing St. Etienne’s teenage centre-half, Wesley Fofana.
The 19-year-old is very highly rated in France with a few people claiming that he is better than his teammate, William Saliba, who signed for Arsenal at the start of last season.
With a number of top European clubs including Everton lurking, Fofana was expected to make a big move this summer but St. Etienne have put a stop to the rumours by extending his deal till 2024. (GFFN)
With Fofana out of the picture, Everton have to get their other target and that is Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes. The Brazilian is reportedly very close to a £30 million move to Goodison Park (The Guardian) and the importance of the deal has gone up massively now.
Everton have just Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Yerry Mina as the club’s natural centre-halves at the moment. Holgate has been a huge success story this season but the other two haven’t quite been at their best.
Keane hasn’t looked anything like his previous self and has fallen down the pecking order. Mina is brilliant at times but has the tendency to lose his positioning which has put Everton in trouble on multiple occasions.
Fofana would have been a fantastic prospect for the Toffees under Carlo Ancelotti but a player like Gabriel will be ready to slot right in from the first day and Everton have to do everything they can to secure that deal this summer.
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