Everton have been linked with a big-money move for the Portugal international.
According to a recent report from A Bola, Everton are in talks to potentially sign William Carvalho from Sporting Lisbon for a fee in the region of £40million, but what does that say about the club given the uncertainty surrounding Toffees manager Sam Allardyce?
The 63-year-old may have steered Everton clear of the relegation zone and ensured they finished just outside the European places, but few Toffees supporters have taken to Allardyce’s style and, for many, Sunday’s 3-1 defeat against West Ham United was the final straw.
The problem is, if Everton are moving ahead with a deal to sign William, the Toffees are doing so with no guarantee what Allardyce’s hypothetical successor will think of the 26-year-old.
Similarly, whoever takes over at Goodison Park in due course will have his own targets in mind and, unless Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has already set his sights on someone specific, there is no guarantee William will fit the bill just as so many of Ronald Koeman’s targets were quickly shunted to the side by Allardyce.
Of course, there is the prospect of Allardyce remaining at Everton and green lighting the move, but that seems highly unlikely given the recent campaign.
Moshiri will not want to be left behind, with the transfer window opening shortly and the best players likely to be snapped up this side of the World Cup or held back in the hope of increased price tags come July.
When it comes to William, it could well be the former, especially if Sporting want plenty of time to reinvest the money, but only time will tell if the Portuguese is Moshiri’s and Steve Walsh’s target, Allardyce’s or someone else’s entirely.
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