Reports from Portugal claim Everton are convinced that Yacine Brahimi is worth bringing to Goodison Park, having watched the 28-year-old in action for FC Porto, per O Jogo.
What’s the word?
O Jogo reported on Tuesday that the Toffees had scouts in attendance for Porto’s 3-1 win over Nacional on Monday night, when 28-year-old winger Brahimi marked his importance to Sergio Conceicao’s side with two goals.
The midfielder’s brace brought his season tally to six, having also fired home against Rio Ave and Portimonense in December, but could not complete his hat-trick before coming off on the 60th minute.
Conceicao opted not to burn out his second best goalscorer, as the £23.4million-rated star (according to Transfermarkt) is continuing his recovery from an injury that saw him ruled out of the club’s narrow 2-1 over Belenenses SAD.
It is claimed the scouts Everton had in attendance left the stadium convinced over the 45-cap Algerian international’s talent.
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What would he offer?
The attacking midfielder has been linked with a move to Everton previously, with Correio da Manha, according to Sport Witness, claiming the player’s contract situation was bothering the Portuguese side and the Toffees may be the answer.
As Porto are currently fighting for multiple titles, however, the report also suggested Pinto da Costa, the club’s president, would not settle for a fee lower than his €40million (£35.9m) release clause.
Clubs, including Everton, Roma and Milan, were then suggested to be open to a deal between €15 or €20million if da Costa had a change of heart.
Should that happen, and Marcel Brands gets Everton’s name at the front of the queue, Marco Silva would have the services of a skilful dribbler, who possesses a delicate right foot for pinpoint passes and through balls, but will not offer much support to Lucas Digne in terms of tracking back.
It’s a question of whether Silva is prepared to make Digne’s job a little harder defensively for the sake of improving Everton’s quality going forward, and whether the consequential change in balance is worth the risk.
