TalkSPORT pundit and former footballer Tony Cascarino is not buying into reports that Barcelona have had a bid worth £85m rejected for Everton forward Richarlison.
According to Sky Sports, the La Liga giants tabled a bid of around €100m to land the Brazilian, with the Catalan club looking to find a replacement for long-term injury absentee Luis Suarez.
Richarlison joined Everton for around £50m from Watford in 2018, while he signed a new contract at Goodison Park only last month. Speaking on TalkSPORT, Cascarino – along with co-host Alan Brazil – had difficulty in processing such an approach from the five-time European champions.
Offering his thoughts on whether he believed the reports, Cascarino said: “No, especially if you look at transfers over the last few seasons, we had the [Philippe] Coutinho and Neymar deals, I don’t see anyone going even close to £85m, and Everton are not turning it down. He’s a very good player, but I don’t see Barcelona, who have spent hugely, [with] the money that they’ve spent in recent years – they can suddenly come up with another £85m? I just don’t see it.”
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A sale of that sum would eclipse the £76.2m Everton received (as per Transfermarkt) for striker Romelu Lukaku in 2017 – which would arguably make the Toffees’ decision to turn down such a sizeable approach (and deny their striker a move to Barcelona) quite a significant call.
However, it could be argued that Cascarino’s justification is somewhat contradictory, especially given that Richarlison has already moved for £50m, while his new contract may suggest he is worth a great deal more now – to Everton, at least. Meanwhile, with the likes of Coutinho and Neymar moving for £142m and £200m respectively in recent seasons, perhaps £85m for Richarlison is a pretty measly sum in comparison.
Therefore, while Cascarino may rightly be surprised to see Everton turn down such a substantial bid, to see a transfer of that size happen may not be so surprising in the current climate based on the examples he provided himself.
Everton fans, are the club likely to get much more than £85m on Richarlison? Share your thoughts below!
