Everton are putting plans in place to sign LOSC Lille star Thiago Mendes as a precaution to cover the potential loss of Idrissa Gana Gueye, according to Le10 Sport.
The French publication understand Paris Saint-Germain are again preparing to court our £70,000-a-week Senegalese midfielder, as Thomas Tuchel is still intent on adding the 63-cap international to his squad at Les Parc des Princes despite the opposition he faced in the winter.
If Gueye does leave for Paris this time around, it is thought we will go through on our interest in Mendes, having pulled out of a €23million (£20.5m) plus bonuses deal in January after blocking Gueye’s exit.
It looked like a bit of a blunder by Marcel Brands at the time, and it certainly will cost our Director of Football if we do now sell Gueye and pursue Mendes, as Le10 Sport have also noted that Olympique Lyonnais have entered into discussions with Lille over the £22.5million-rated Brazilian.
While they did not claim to know how much we are willing to offer for Mendes this summer, they understand Lyon are willing to present a package worth between €30m and €35million (£26.8m to £31.2m) in order not to have to trigger the 27-year-old’s release clause, and take him away from the Stade Pierre Mauroy along with his teammate Youssouf Kone.
If there is to be a bidding race, it could well be that all money raised from Gueye’s sale goes toward signing his replacement, who recorded an average 2.5 successful tackles, 2.0 interceptions, and 1.5 blocks per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season, compared to Gueye’s 4.5 tackles, 2.4 interceptions and 1.8 blocks in the Premier League.