A one-time Liverpool target is now on Everton’s radar.
Well, according to a report from Spain on Tuesday.
Sport has reported that Neto, once linked to Liverpool, is a transfer target for their Merseyside rivals at Goodison Park.
The Toffees need a better covering option for Jordan Pickford than Asmir Begovic and the Barcelona goalkeeper, at the moment, is looking like a potential solution.
However, Everton supporters might not react well to knowing that the 32-year-old once had his heart set on a move to Liverpool.
That’s according to the Reds’ goalkeeping coach John Achterberg.
Speaking to Red Men TV in October about the Brazilian stopper, Achterberg revealed that in 2015, Neto was being lined up as a competitor for Simon Mignolet’s gloves.
He said: “We wanted to sign a new goalie to be in competition with Simon and I liked Neto. He wanted to come to us but he could not change it so he didn’t come in the end. He still wanted to come but obviously, it didn’t happen and he’s at Barca now.”
Neto cost Barca some £29 million when they signed him from Valencia in 2019, illustrating that Liverpool clearly had the right idea to sign him seven years ago.
However, Alisson wound up joining Jurgen Klopp’s outfit three years after missing out on Neto and the rest, as they say, is history.
Whether Everton fans hold any grudge over him wanting to join their local neighbours at some point – according to Achterberg – remains to be seen.
But the Blues definitely will need to be signing a goalkeeper this summer and it’ll be fascinating to see if Frank Lampard finally offers him football on Merseyside, albeit a different side of it.
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