Everton has pushed hard to sign “machine” midfielder with “sky high potential” Richard Ríos for £83m amidst competition.
Everton has pushed hard to sign “machine” midfielder with “sky high potential” Richard Ríos for £83m amidst competition.
Everton are now pushing to sign a £83m midfielder this month, but they are set to face competition for his
signature from their Premier League rivals, according to a report.
Everton eyeing new midfielders for Moyes
Back in December, it was reported that two of Sean Dyche’s main aims in the January transfer window were to
bring in a new right-back and winger, meaning they are still likely to be considered priority positions under
the helm of new manager David Moyes.
However, the Toffees clearly feel signing a new central midfielder could aid their survival chances this season,
as they are now in talks over a deal for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jakub Moder,
who has found game time difficult to come by for the Seagulls.
Newcastle Untied’s Sean Langstaff has also been identified as a January target,
with the 27-year-old now in line to become Moyes’ first signing.
The Merseyside club have been looking at midfielders since the summer,
and at one point they were targeting Palmeiras’ Ricardo Rios,
but the Colombian ultimately ended up remaining in Brazil.
Now, however, there has been a development in Everton’s pursuit of Rios,
with Caught Offside reporting they are pushing hard to get a deal over the line in the January transfer window.
It is unclear how much Palmeiras would be looking to receive for the 24-year-old,
but there is a €100m (£83m) release clause in his contract, so he is unlikely to come cheap,
especially considering he has just put pen to paper on a new deal.
Interest from elsewhere could also drive the midfielder’s price up,
with Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest also in the running for his signature,
having been impressed with his consistency in the Brazilian Serie A.
What Rios could offer Everton
Scout Ben Mattinson has previously given an overview of what type of player the Colombia international is.
Back in the summer, Mattinson also explained that the central midfielder has “sky high potential”,
but wasn’t ready for a big move due to a lack of experience.
However, the former Flamengo man continued to impress last season,
being ranked as the fifth-best performing player in the Palmeiras squad by WhoScored,
and he places in the 89th percentile for tackles per 90 over the past year,
compared to his positional peers in similar leagues.
It would be a risk to sign Rios, given that he is unproven outside Brazil, but his performances last season indicate it could be a gamble worth taking assuming that release clause number is whittled down, as Moyes looks to steer Everton to safety.
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