Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands is at risk of making a colossal error in the transfer market, as Football Insider understand the club are prepared to sell Idrissa Gana Gueye.
The 29-year-old Senegal midfielder has once again been attracting the interest of Paris Saint-Germain following their failed winter pursuit, with the French outfit recently returning to Merseyside with a €30million (£27.1m) offer.
Thomas Tuchel’s triumphant Ligue 1 side had bid at most £26.5million in January, as the German sought to lure our midfield anchor to Les Parc des Princes.
The former Borussia Dortmund head coach had identified Gueye as the man he wanted to replace contract rebel Adrien Rabiot with, but Brands and Marco Silva continually knocked back the French club.
Tuchel is still thought to dream of signing Gueye this summer though, as the holding midfield slot in Paris remains vacant despite Ander Herrera’s arrival as a free agent. However, Everton were believed to have issued PSG with a €50million (£45.2m) asking price when they enquired about the £70,000-a-week star’s availability earlier this month.
L’Equipe expect the Parisian outfit will return with an improved offer following their rejected €30m approach, and an agreement may not be far off going by Football Insider’s claims.
The insider outlet claims sources from within Goodison Park have informed them that Blues chiefs actually value Gueye closer to £30million, and feel they can now sanction his exit having brought Fabian Delph to the club.
But Delph and Gueye are far from comparable players, so suggesting that the England internationals’ arrival would adequately replace the vital input the PSG target offers would be naïve.
Gueye is one of the best midfield anchors in the Premier League, and only finished the recent campaign second to Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi for total tackles recorded out of any top-flight player regardless of position – with 142 successful efforts to the Nigerian’s 143.
Our 29-year-old also recorded the sixth-most interceptions for any top-flight player and tallied 74 interceptions, 44 clearances, 56 blocks, and 1,741 passes in his 33 Premier League appearances in 2018/19.