Everton were reportedly snubbed by Wilfried Zaha before they decided to pursue a deal for Richarlison.
Everton kicked off their summer spending last month by catching many off guard and spending £40 million on bringing Richarlison in to Goodison Park – as reported by The Telegraph. But according to a report from the Daily Mirror, it appears that Marco Silva was initially rejected by another target before he sought a reunion with the Brazilian.
The Mirror is now reporting that Wilfried Zaha has his heart set on a move to Chelsea and has told his Crystal Palace teammates that he is ready to leave Selhurst Park for the Blues this summer.
However, it appears that Zaha had the opportunity to join Everton this summer. The Mirror adds that the 25-year-old – who has also been linked with Tottenham Hotspur before Spurs decided to concentrate on getting Jack Grealish in – snubbed the chance to make the move to Merseyside because he is not keen on returning north.
Zaha, of course, endured a fairly miserable stint with Manchester United in between his two spells with Palace, and the report suggests that he is now hoping to stay in London, but will consider handing in a transfer request.
The move for Richarlison certainly appears to be a significant gamble from Everton. While £40 million is starting to seem less like an eye-watering fee for a club of the Toffees’ stature, it is still the kind of sum that will put an enormous amount of pressure on a 21-year-old who has spent just one year in the Premier League and struggled for form after an initial brilliant spell.
Zaha will surely go for more if he does leave Palace this summer, but he is clearly a much more established player, so it will be interesting to see whether Everton or Zaha’s potential next club – which looks set to be Chelsea at this stage – feel that they have got the better deal this time next year.
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