West Ham were frustrated to miss out on Sporting Lisbon star William Carvalho but it appears Everton were a little less interested.
You’d have had long odds on William Carvalho still being a Sporting Lisbon player after August’s transfer deadline. The Euro 2016 winning midfielder looked certain to finally move to the Premier League this summer with West Brom, Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester City among the vast quantity of clubs linked with a big-money move.
However, West Ham eventually emerged as leading candidates, only for the deal to fall through on deadline day and spark a war of words between the Portuguese giants and the London club, per the Evening Standard.
Yet, Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (4th September, page 20) report that Carvalho also had the chance of moving to big-spending Everton instead late in the transfer window.
The report claims that Sporting were holding out for an English club to trigger the 25-year-old’s £40 million buyout clause as they were struggling to reach an agreement with The Hammers, and had offered their prized asset to Everton.
However, Carvalho is now set for another season at the Estadio Jose Alvalade rather than pitching in and helping Everton in their quest to break into the Premier League’s elite, Champions League chasing circle.
Carvalho is undoubtedly a quality midfielder with vast international and European experience at a relatively young age, while renowned for his expert distribution in front of the back four.
Yet, with Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gana Gueye ensuring Everton have one of the toughest central midfields in the Premier League, it would have made little sense for Everton to invest such a mammoth fee in a position where they are arguably at their strongest.
Carvalho may be a superb talent but, with Everton already overspending on the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Michael Keane, a little bit of restraint should be applauded.
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