Brazilian Serie A giants Santos reportedly want to sell Lucas Verissimo with Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton keen to bring him to the Premier League.
Santos are willing to sell Lucas Verissimo for as little as £8.5 million, according to Lance, with Everton hoping to land the Brazilian centre-back during the January transfer window.
The Toffees might have conceded just four goals in six games since Carlo Ancelotti took over at Goodison Park in December, a far cry from their error-prone displays in the final throes of the Marco Silva reign, but a new defender is still required on the blue half of Merseyside – particularly with the former Real Madrid boss experimenting with a back three of late.
Michael Keane, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate are the only natural centre-half options at Ancelotti’s disposal with eye-catching youngster Lewis Gibson expected to leave on loan rather than push for a first-team place.
And with Everton at least one defender short, reports from South America have suggested that Verissimo could be on his way to Merseyside.
A loan offer was rejected last week, according to UOL, but Santos would happily accept a permanent deal for a player whose sale would ease their financial woes. President Jose Carlos Peres, Lance claims, is willing to accept £8.5 million with AC Milan, Atalanta and Monaco all interested.
25-year-old Verissimo is a classy, typically Brazilian centre-back who almost doubles up as a deep-lying quarterback at times. An excellent distributor, he completed 87 per cent of his passes in the Brazilian Serie A last season and would help Ancelotti’s Everton to build up play from the back.
Interestingly, Verissimo’s pass completion rate is far superior to that of Holgate, Mina and Keane.
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