Everton are undergoing a total midfield revamp this summer with the likes of Allan, James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure all expected through the door at Goodison Park, so perhaps latest reports come as a bit of a surprise…
What’s the word?
According to Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), the Hammers hold interest in Barcelona outcast Rafinha and he’s one of many players they are looking to sell.
It’s claimed that the La Liga giants want a fee of €16m (£14.25m) for the 27-year-old with West Ham, Arsenal and Lazio also mooted as possible destinations.
Rafinha’s contract expires next summer and having come through the La Masia academy, he has gone out on loan three times from the Nou Camp.
Shades of 2017
If Marcel Brands and Carlo Ancelotti are successful in their triple swoop as mentioned above, then a move for Rafinha doesn’t really make too much sense as there will be midfielders aplenty in Merseyside.
This very much feels like a move former director of football Steve Walsh would make – the man who splashed around £150m before being sacked with the Toffees practically out of every competition possible.
During that summer, he signed Sandro Ramirez, who has gone on to cost the club in excess of £16m despite only playing a total of 16 matches.
It’s thought that Rafinha is on around €75k-per-week (£66.7k-per-week) at Barcelona, which is a substantial amount for someone that would be a back up at best.
Not to forget that the Toffees still have the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Andre Gomes at the club, even if they sign those three midfielders.
During his loan spell at Celta, Rafinha only averaged 0.8 key passes and delivered just the one assist from 29 appearances, via WhoScored.
It just reeks of being a 2017-esque transfer disaster, so Everton ought to avoid this move at all costs.
AND in other news, Ancelotti suffers a blow as Toffees need to pay up for summer target…