Everton face an anxious wait to see if Paris Saint-Germain will return to Merseyside with an improved offer for Idrissa Gana Gueye, as the Blues’ enquiry for Juventus’ Blaise Matuidi fell on deaf ears, according to Le Parisien.
PSG cashed-in on Matuidi in the summer of 2017 as they sought to promote Adrien Rabiot, but the decision has now backfired with Rabiot leaving the French capital on a free transfer and coincidentally following his compatriot to Turin.
Rabiot’s departure has left the Ligue 1 giants once again in the market for a new defensive midfielder, and have reportedly approached the Blues to see if Gueye is on offer after their winter efforts proved unsuccessful.
Their latest €30million (£26.8m) bid fell below our speculated asking price of up to €50million (£44.8m), but the Parisian side are expected to improve their offer as Gueye remains eager to move to the French capital after seeing his dream transfer blocked in January.
Blues chiefs may have considered Matuidi as a viable alternative to Gueye, but Juventus are understood to have informed PSG, Everton, AS Monaco, Manchester United and Olympique Lyonnais that the 2018 World Cup winner is not available for a transfer at present.
Les Parisians head coach Thomas Tuchel, a known admirer of Gueye, highly admirers what Matuidi is capable of, and is claimed to still be questioning why PSG sanctioned the £122,086-a-week midfielder’s departure two years ago.
Serie A champions Juventus, who have also acquired Aaron Ramsey on a free transfer, are reluctant to part ways with Matuidi this summer, but may consider the 32-year-old’s future again at a later stage if they are unable to move on Sami Khedira, Emre Can and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Depending on PSG’s speculated advances for Gueye, Everton may have to hope that Juve open the door for Matuidi to move on, as Director of Football Marcel Brands’ previous top target to replace the Senegal international was Thiago Mendes, who has now joined Lyon from LOSC Lille for €27million (£24.2m) including potential add-ons.