According to Le10 Sport, Lille and Napoli have reached an agreement for the transfer of Gabriel Magalhaes this summer.
The report claims that the recently crowned Coppa Italia champions have agreed a £22.5 million fee with Lille for Gabriel. Gennaro Gattuso’s side are yet to agree personal terms but that should just be a formality in the coming weeks.
The Brazilian was one of the best defenders in Ligue 1 last season. Gabriel was heavily linked with Everton, with reports claiming that he had already had a medical with the Toffees. (Independent)
Everton are short of numbers in central defence. Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate and Michael Keane are the only senior centre-halves available to Carlo Ancelotti at the moment which is a real concern.
Gabriel would have been a fantastic signing for the Toffees this summer. The Brazilian’s performances in Ligue 1 last term were among the very best and a number of clubs were interested in him.
Premier League trio Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea were all reportedly looking at him but it now seems like his next destination will be a little over 1200 miles away from England.
That should be viewed as a missed opportunity by Everton. Gabriel, still only 22, would have been a solution for the Toffees in central defence for the best part of the next decade.
At about £22 million, he would have been a real bargain but Ancelotti will now have to look elsewhere to find a defender as good as, if not better than, Gabriel this summer.
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