Everton can sign Romania international Alexandru Cicaldau for as little as £6.3 million thanks to a release clause in his contract at Craiova, according to DigiSport.
For the second time in 12 months, one of the stars of Romania’s thrilling U21 European campaign could be packing his bags for England.
George Puscas fired a thrilling, free-wheeling side into the semi-finals in 2019, battering Aidy Boothroyd’s Young Lions along the way, before swapping Italian football for Reading.
According to the Mirror (19 July, page 70) a creative midfielder who models himself on the legendary Andres Iniesta could be following in Puscas’s footsteps.
“I have always liked Iniesta. I think we have the same style,” Cicaldau told ProSport after reports emerged suggesting that Everton were confident of luring him to Goodison Park.
“There is a big difference in quality, but in style we are similar.”
An Everton side who limped to a 12th-place finish this season, their worst standing in 16 years, could certainly do with a bit of creative wizardry as they look to match their ambition off the pitch with tangible success on it.
Gylfi Sigurdsson continues to look a shadow of his former self, producing two goals and three assists in 35 Premier League games, while neither Andre Gomes, Fabián Delph or Tom Davies are capable of carving apart a defence like peak-era Iniesta.
So, with a £6.3 million release clause in Cicaldau’s contract, a dazzling number ten who graduated with flying colours from the Gheorghe Hagi academy is certainly worth taking a punt on.
Cicaldau mustered 15 goals and eight assists in 2019/20 – the sort of figures Sigurdsson used to produce.
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